With the rust belt’s declining industries vying with PTS-induced restlessness to derail the lives of older brother Russell (Bale) and his Iraq-vet sibling Rodney (Affleck) respectively, it’s a matter of time before Woody Harrelson’s bad guy thwarts Rodney’s attempts to get-rich-quick on the illegal fight circuit. Bale is as dependable in performance as his character is in moral stature, but it’s the fight scenes and bleak landscapes that give this slightly pedestrian film a visual lift.
Out of the Furnace (Auge um Auge) | Directed by Scott Cooper (USA 2013) with Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson and Casey Affleck. Starts April 3