Oscar 2013: Out of the Furnace (spoilers)

Christian Bale on set

I recently read the March 2011 copy of Out of the Furnace.  It's a testosterone-fueled drama about men, brothers, and street fighting, set against the crystal meth backwoods and decaying steel industry of Pennsylvania in 2008, when the whole economy had pretty much landed in the shitter.  The "Furnace" in this case is, at least partly, in reference to blast furnaces steelworkers use to smelt metal, but can also be taken more metaphorically on a grander scale, I guess.  Additionally, the title is not unlike the 1941 Thomas Bell novel Out of This Furnace, also set in Braddock, PA, but, as far as I can tell, bears little similarity to the script, outside of geography and local nuances.  I haven't read the book, but the focus seems to be more on the history of union development in the area during the late 1800s/early 1900s.  Rather, Scott Cooper's film feels all very Fight Club and Winter's Bone mixed with a heavy dose of The Deer Hunter with no Matewan elements (at least, on the surface, though, some libertarians and conservatives may want to argue otherwise).  It will be the director's followup to Crazy Heart, the Jeff Bridges' vehicle that won two Academy Awards (and got Maggie Gyllenhaal a surprise, long overdue nomination only to be recognized for a standard performance; if you don't believe me, watch her in Happy Endings and/or Sherrybaby and then tell me).  Word on the internet is that the screenplay is a deviation from Brad Ingelsby's superior The Low Dweller, which, apparently, Cooper has messed with a great deal to the point that the latest version has little in common with its source material.  I can't speak to that; however, after reading this version, I can't say that it seems an unlikely story.  Anyhow, there are spoilers, so be warned (though, I don't reveal the ending, because it's kind of pointless).  Frankly, I don't think they're that big of a deal, but if you don't want to know what happens in the story, then please feel free to stop reading here.

Plot Summary (spoilers)
The script has, let it be said, an audacious opening rivaling Killer Joe's finale with Woody Harrelson playing Curtis DeGroat, the villain of the narrative.  For reasons unexplained, he shoves a hot dog down a prostitute's mouth at a drive-in before dispatching her and a chivalrous gentleman who tries to intervene (ah, that lovely road to Hell and its well-intended pavement).  It's a visceral attention-grabber for sure.  We then shift focus to two brothers Russell (Christian Bale) and Rodney, Jr (Casey Affleck) Baze at a racetrack.  Rodney has a gambling problem and it's always his older bro Russell bailing him out, as well as looking after their ailing father Rodney, Sr (as a sidenote: I'm a "Jr" who is the second born son, which, I've been told, is unusual).  Russell is a laborious steelworker who takes care of his family and is also in a relationship with waitress (bitch, please) Lena Warren (Zoe Saldana).  After working a double shift and a visit to the bar, Russell causes an accident which lands him in jail for a couple of years for manslaughter.  He survives the violent atmosphere and duration by defending himself against gangs and relying on his Catholic faith.  He's released early on good behavior, but, while he was in the slammer, his father dies, Lena marries the local sheriff Wesley Barnes (Forest Whitaker), and Rodney has just served in the war.

Russell returns to their family home in Braddock, manages to get his old job back, and picks up where he left off as much as a person can in his position, even after being diagnosed with cancer.  Unbeknownst to Russell, Rodney engages in illegal street fighting.  He's not interested in holding down a job, but he loves his extracurricular activity and he's good at it.  He implores his bookie John Petty (Willem Dafoe) to score a fighting gig in the extreme rural mountainous Ramapos, where apparently "mulattoes" (the script's words, not mine, as I've been schooled that word is now dated and inappropriate) endeavor their own brand of bloody battles, presided over by onlookers including the remorseless DeGroat.  A reluctant Petty makes it happen.  And, Rodney, never one to follow directions well, wins the fight high on passion and pride even after Petty instructed him that his role was to throw it and dive.  His actions (big surprise) end up getting him and Petty killed.  Meanwhile, the brothers Baze's uncle Red (Sam Shepard) has come into town and has been bonding with Russell hunting deer.  After they spend some time together and Rodney goes missing, the movie turns into a quest for vigilante justice.  More happens, but the details just strike me as too insignificant to relay and comment on; I had already stopped caring by this point.

Script Review (spoilers)
I had a difficult time getting through this script.  I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt, but the cliches just kept piling up; I felt suffocated by how predictable and trite the screenplay was.  I believe the intentions were in the right place, with Cooper being from the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, he examines good people trying to do the right thing surrounded by those who are beaten, shiftless, and/or toxic.  He wanted to tell a personal story about "real America."  This is a survival tale set outside the far reaches of urban America about family and relationships, and people doing what they can to live within the best of their abilities.  But, everything was so superficially dealt with, complete with obviously chosen 80s/90s rock/metal song and classical piece suggestions (one that had already been used recently and memorably for Two Lovers) for the editing room.  Perhaps director Cooper will bring something of a higher substance to the proceedings, but it's hard to have faith, when he was responsible for the screenplay of his last film Crazy Heart, which suffered from similar issues.  But, there is no Jeff Bridges to sing and save this movie.  I just couldn't sign on.  This felt like The Deer Hunter written by someone who watched it growing up, not necessarily someone who had experienced it.  And Oliver Stone aside, I feel there is something to be said for life experience, or, at least, a little deep insight into the human condition.  And that is probably what bothered me most: the lack of life experience is outweighed by the desire to be a storyteller.  And, if I'm a jerk who is pulling that out of his asshole out of pure, unsubstantiated conjecture, so be it.  But, I don't mean to be, but this is what I thought of the script.  As far as Oscar chances, I'm thinking maybe one for supporting actor at the most (for example, if Woody Harrelson--who is written to wear a G-string at one point while engaging in S&M with his partner--tears it up, or perhaps Casey Affleck).  Alberto Iglesias was supposedly slated to compose the score, but those duties ended up going to Dickon Hinchliffe of Winter's Bone fame.  Cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi has been on quite the run lately from Warrior to The Grey and Silver Linings Playbook.  Production designer Thérèse DePrez has Black Swan under her belt, as well as the recent Stoker.  Editor David Rosenbloom was nominated for The Insider in 1999.

Christian Bale on set

You know, it's amazing to me what gets green-lit in Hollywood (but it shouldn't).  I get the reason franchise films, tent-poles, generic actioners, and dumb Adam Sandler comedies exist.  What interests me more are the films that get made outside of that realm.  Considering what a dwindling number they are, money getting thrown at yet another straight, white male movie with no clearly bankable stars is just ridiculous.  But, I don't know how much this film was made for.  From what I can tell, not a lot, so I perhaps should just shut up.  After all, this production gave people jobs.  But it is a testament to how a film of passable quality (Crazy Heart) can win awards, misinform the filmmakers that they made something great, and able its director to push this pablum.  Again, perhaps his direction will rise above the screenplay (not that we have any reason to believe so) and justify Relativity Media's reason for going in on this (as well as Leonardo DiCaprio, and the Scott brothers).  The angle here is selling this to blue-collar America, I think, to capture the underserved God-fearing market.  But, do they show up for these kind of films anymore?  And ones written so poorly?  They often sign up for shit movies, but, generally, ones that don't try to stand for anything in the first place.  I'm really interested to see how this all plays out.

Previous Editions:

American Hustle     August: Osage County     The Counselor     Elysium      Foxcatcher     Fruitvale Station     Grace of Monaco     Gravity     Labor Day     Out of the Furnace     Pacific Rim      Prisoners     Rush     Saving Mr. Banks     The Secret Life of Walter Mitty