Harsh Times is not a good movie, but it has three performances in it that make it a good recommendation from me.
Christian Bale has two of them. One as the ex Army veteran who is struggling to get over the Vietnam war and who is haunted by his past but desperately wants to get a job as a cop. His other performance is as a hothead druggie who wouldn't think twice about killing a cop if it saves his own skin whilst drink driving with a truck load of drugs. The scariest parts of the movie are when he blends the two characters into one and that's where the movie gets interesting. Although Bale is the lead, it's
Freddy Rodriguez that we are aligned with throughout the film. He is essentially playing the role of the viewer, as he watches Bale as he changes from persona to persona, quite often horrified by some of his friends actions. But Freddy will always go along with him, as Bale is the little devil on his shoulder, and if he offers him a drink, a beer, or a night away from his wife... he simply can't say no. The film starts off poorly and
David Ayer in his directorial debut introduces the world and the characters in a terribly confusing way. We are withdrawn from the setting as these characters wander around with no purpose, but it does somewhat kick into gear in the third act but by then it's probably lost most of you. Some great charismatic and emotional acting from both Bale and Rodriguez though. The latter of which should become a big star if he keeps up his success of the last 12 months. Eva Longoria's role as Rodriguez's wife was a small one, but she plays it pretty well and is far better in this movie than she was with the same screen time in
The Sentinel. Comparisons to
Training Day are obvious (Ayer wrote that movie too) but the way I would describe the flick is a badly made movie that matches
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas and the awesome
Taxi Driver with some fine acting from it's two leads. Next up.....
G.I. SAMURAI