Tuesday, May 06, 2014
Working class hero
Today's movie is a basic revenge thriller with unique setting, the dying steel towns of Pennsylvania.
A great cast plays out the tough minded revenge thriller.
Christian Bale is the hero who gets Woody Harrelson to pay for the death of Bale's brother Casey Affleck while Forest Whitaker, a cop, tries to fend off the inevitable. On the side, Sam Shepherd and Willem Dafoe play patriarchs trying to mitigate the tragic results.
The steel town is also a player. Many scenes revolve around the dying or dead city. Quiet resignation on the part of its people.
There is another place, the home of the villain, the pine barrens of New Jersey. I know this area. Hillbillies don't begin to describe the ingrown freaks that populate and run the drugs which keep them going.
So there is a lot to see and experience in this tough movie. It is very tough indeed. Did I mention that Casey Affleck, the avenged brother is a four time Iraq vet (is that possible?) who is a bare knuckle fighter. Now you know how tough this shit is.
I thought about bailing out early on. I wasn't sure I was up to it. But Bale who I have watched since he was a little boy in Empire of the Sun, is a prodigiously talented actor. In this case he has a lot of support from all the people around him.
Then there is Woody Harrelson, the villain. Boy. Remember him as the bartender in the television show Cheers?. In this he is a vile bastard who needs to be expunged from the earth. We are glad as hell to see him suffer for his sins. Which he must, as this is a classic story.
This is a 4 out of Netflix5. I would make it a 5 but I don't think I would want to watch it again. Too tough by far with little respite. I think that could have been provided. But there is none. None. All go and no pause.
Labels: films
