Harsh Times
Rated: R
David Ayer's (writer of Training Day) directorial debut may not be for me. The film focuses on two friends (Christian Bale and Freddy Rodíguez) and their true-to-life experiences in the rough neighborhoods of urban L.A. As the whitest guy I know (my daily vocabulary includes the word "gosh"), it may be impossible for me to ever connect to the world presented in the film. However, the awkward performances of the film's leads certainly didn’t help. Drawing from his life experiences, Ayer tells the story of Jim (Bale), a recently discharged and slightly insane army ranger and his friend Mike (Rodíguez) both looking for work as they tumble back and forth between the immaturity of lazy youth and the responsibilities of starting new careers and managing adult romantic relationships with their respective girlfriends Harsh Times shows that Ayer certainly has a talent both for writing and directing. While there's nothing groundbreaking in the film, he manages to capture the constant string of dualities which run throughout the film. Love and violence, selflessness and selfishness, maturity and immaturity—all parallel nicely to the multiple conflicts which run throughout the story. Ayer also manages to capture the gritty L.A. environment although there's nothing here that hasn't been done before and also done better in just about any episode of The Shield. Still, it's a competent film and it's clear that Ayer's big focus is on his actors. Unfortunately, they let him down. To begin, Bale's character is supposed to be twenty-six years old. The dude can transform himself like crazy with The Machinist and Batman Begins at both ends of the weight scale, but 100 syringes full of Botox couldn't convince me that Bale is a day under 30. But the real nail in the coffin is in the delivery. Jim and Mike don't sound like they grew up on these mean streets. They sound like they grew up playing one too many games of Grand Theft Auto and no amount of "dawgs" and slang can wash away the appearance of posing. What's shocking is that both Bale and Rodriguez are talented actors, but Bale is too old and gritty to be playing a reckless young veteran-thug and Rodíguez' soft features and slumped posture make the character seem so laid back that he almost lacks a pulse. Only when pushed to extreme situations does Mike ever seem to come alive. But the other 95% of the time, we have Jim and Mike seeming like two guys who ventured a little too far out of the Hollywood Hills. But I could be out of my element here. Ayer speaks from experience and I speak from the experience of watching movies and television shows that resemble Ayer's experience. However, while some actors manage to realistically inhabit this world, these leads only provide an unrealistic foreground to Ayer’s authentic background. Words by |