Bale is a former Army Ranger, just back from a tour in the Middle East and looking for law enforcement work in his native L.A. He spends his mornings drinking, smoking weed and occassionally holding up rivals at gunpoint and uses his afternoons to take certifications courses for various law enforcement agencies. Neither Bale nor his friends see anything wrong or unusual with this way of living.
Bale, who has become one of my favorite actors, does a great job of adopting a certain type of Mexi-Cali swagger and lingo. The language and backdrops seem genuinely authentic, adding to the drama.
One of the best parts of the film is simply watching Bale get into his character and the intensity that he has. He verges right on the edge of complete psychological disintegration for nearly the entire film. Indeed, his personality dominates everything in the film. His friends do what he wants, his enemies usually end up doing what he wants, and woe to the one's who get in his way. This best part of the movie is also the most unsettling for me. The movie doesn't give any hints as to what will happen, but you just KNOW that things can't end well for Bale or his crew. Someone has to pay for the lifestyle that they lead. He's just too self-destructive for any other outcome.
Everything about the movie seemed well-done, but still, I can't say that I enjoyed it. Perhaps it's because I was just uneasy the entire time, just waiting for Bale to finally lose it completely and descend into madness. If you enjoy drama-tragedies then you might enjoy this movie. I'll wait for Bale's next role.
$$$
- Stuart -
No comments:
Post a Comment