HARSH TIMES

The title pretty much says it all. This movie is hovering just above 40% on the Tomatometer, with most critics complaining about how violent and unpleasant the main character is. Considering that’s the point of the movie, it’s no big surprise. What most people aren’t mentioning is that it’s full of super-funny moments, including many laugh-out-loud ones. It’s satirical and contains black comedy elements that must have eluded certain critics.

The basic gist of the movie is that Christian Bale’s character returns from war in the Middle East and can’t secure a job with law enforcement. He spends his days driving around the ghetto underbelly of L.A. while drinking heavily with his friend (Rico from Six Feet Under), engaging in various petty criminal enterprises, being psychotic, and basically getting ripped. I’ve seen him play psychos before many times (pop quiz! How many times?), but this is the first thuggish psycho, and he’s scarily convincing. The cinematography and dialogue are pulsating and immediate; I was reminded a little of the atmosphere of the television program The Shield. There are a lot of interesting ideas about war and violence and the male psyche – and it’s all wrapped up by Bale’s perfect performance. This guy is pretty much at a 100% success level, and still most people have never heard of him…

As an added side note, Christian Bale’s Spanish is really great. I don’t think he speaks Spanish, but he has the natural delivery and accent of a real Spanish speaker. I know he’s an actor, but this is one of the better accents I’ve heard. The acting is great all around, and once you get past the disconnect of seeing Christian Bale hanging out with Rico, everything is smooth. Even Eva Longoria is good – I was dreading seeing her with Christian Bale, but don’t worry! She’s Rico’s girl in this flick!