Movie of the Month : HARSH TIMES (2005)

IN THE OPENING MOMENTS ………

Using night vision really well, we find ourselves in Trashcanistan (Afghanistan) and join one soldier named Jim as he moves in close to a group of armed men. Base-heavy music kicks in just as he does, efficiently killing about 10 of them without flinching. It is slick, deadly and very cool and the audience feels the excitement and rush. When we step to the back of Jim's car in Mexico the effect is jarring and it did make me think how anyone can leave that type of life and return to everyday, 9-5 society. And this is really what the film is sort of about as we see Jim losing track of what is permissible in normal life.

The plot in this film is somewhat like an aircraft that spends a puzzlingly long time taxiing along the runway before it finally gets airborne. Even then, it is not until the final part that the joystick is forcefully pulled back, and with a great whoosh we are up for some very showy loop-the-loops and victory rolls. HARSH TIMES is both sophisticated and ambitious, with intriguing character development.

SYNOPSIS

After returning home from the Afghan War, Army Ranger Jim Davis (Christian Bale) is having a hard time adjusting to civilian life. Jim is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and having flashbacks and nightmares of the killing he did during the war. Jim wants to be a policeman, and he applies for a job with the L.A.P.D. While waiting for the job to come through, Jim hangs out with his best friend, Mike Alonzo (Freddy Rodriguez). Jim and Mike begin to cruise the mean streets of South Central, Los Angeles, and they fall back into their old life of crime. Jim is expecting to join the LAPD to marry his Mexican girlfriend Marta (Tammy Trull) while Mike is being pressured by his mate Sylvia (Eva Longoria) to find a job. The two lead actors end up struggling through job rejections, life, gangs, drugs and drinks, and also the struggle to move on from their carefree lifestyle when they were young.

REVIEW:

David Ayer’s direction is visually very assured and he uses the close confines of the car well while also giving the streets a rough feel. Ayer has created a dark, moody portrayal of South Central Los Angeles, very similar to that of Training Day. The cinematography gives L.A. that "afternoon dirty orange sky" gritty feel. The shots of the city Skyline inserted into the film here and there really set the scene and the tone of the film. The flashes and filters employed when Bale goes off the deep end really wake you up and put you on.

What I found interesting was the way Ayer introduced the beautiful barren Mexican landscape amongst the roughness of LA life. This was to show the personal crossroads Bale's character experiences. And the extremely well shot shootout at the end uses some stylish slow motion effects and keeps you guessing as to where the bullets are going to end up. The character development in this film is rich and deep. Seeing the progression from "Dark Blue" to "Training Day" and now "Harsh Times" is proof of Ayer's progression as a writer. . Ayer does work well in establishing the relationship between Jim and Mike. He has written convincing men; losers no doubt but it is interesting to see the posing and peer-pressure playing its part in every scene they share

Christian Bale is an actor who is never orthodox. His string of films have in general been breaking moulds and testing his own ability, and more often than not you leave the cinema thinking that you had seen something special. His ability to go from crazed lunatic to apologetic, tear-filled and beaten man is amazing to watch. The scene between Rodriguez and Bale in the car near the end of the film was a brilliant showcase of Bale's varying level of sanity. Bale’s performance is not only one of the best of the year, but the character of Jim Davis is one of the most impressively written and acted performances in motion picture history. His disturbing yet touching performance in the last 30 minutes of the film are without a doubt one of my favorite performances of an actor. I feel that Christian Bale's performance is as mesmerizing as De Niro's Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver or Edward Norton's character in American History X.

Sharing much screen time with Bale is a relatively unknown Freddy Rodriquez. Who shines in much the same way Ethan Hawke did in Training Day—playing the straight man whose life is finally on the up and up before his love for a friend drags him back down .Rodriquez shows his ability in mixing comedic moments up with emotional intensity and apathy. He balances his loyalty to Jim well with his character's own weak spine. His friendship with Bale is so unpredictable that as an audience, you find yourself laughing with them at one moment and the next on the verge of tears.

Bale and Rodriguez were initially hard to swallow with their very heavy dialect and accents but once in their world you get past this and realize what brilliant work they are doing. With the film very much about them, the support casts don’t have much to do but still have a good presence. Simmons is always a welcome presence and after being just a sexy wiggle at the start, Eva Longoria does good work with her small role.

This film feels real, and the director really makes you feel like you are actually in the film, in the situation with the characters. You feel part of their lives and start feeling for them. It's frustrating that Harsh Times did not get the box office recognition it deserved. However, through word of mouth and DVD release, I am certain that this will become a sleeper classic, in the style of Shaw shank Redemption.

I recommend Harsh Times very highly; it is emotional, violent, realistic, hilarious, thought-provoking, inspired, entertaining, gripping, original and shocking

“We have monsters among us in this world and while they can be utilized as a necessity for the survival of our culture, hopefully when their jobs are done they can be helped to assimilate back into society without their ambivalence being able to hurt the ones they love. “

Director: David Ayer

Cast: Christian Bale ,Freddy Rodriguez , Eva Longoria Parker , J.K. Simmons

[Rated R for strong violence, language and drug use].

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

DVD EXTRAS : Commentary by David Ayer

Deleted Scenes

trailers

ONLINE TRAILER LINK :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbS7M4-Y87Y

TORRENT FILE NAME :

Harsh Times [2005]DvDrip[Eng]-aXXo


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