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Review #304 of 365
Film: Harsh Times (2006) [R] 120 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $8.00
Where Viewed: United Artists Denver Pavilions Stadium 15, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 11 November 2006
Time: 4:55 p.m.
Film's Official Website
DVD Release Date: unscheduled
Directed by: David Ayer
Written by: David Ayer (Training Day)
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Christian Bale (The Prestige) • Freddy Rodríguez (Lady in the Water) • Eva Longoria (The Sentinel) • Chaka Forman ("Hyperion Bay") • Tammy Trull ("Invasion") • J.K. Simmons (Thank You for Smoking) • Michael Monks (Garfield)
Soundtrack: order the CD below
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
When I first saw the poster for Harsh Times, I was intrigued. Christian Bale playing a tough guy. Most of us had little other advanced notice of the arrival of this film save for the poster glimpses. After seeing the film, which, sadly, must be labeled as not one of Mr. Bale's best films, I immediately had to sit down and research why on earth this film came out now. Apparently, and this is somewhat speculative, but apparently this film was made before Batman Begins. Well, I'm not positive on that fact, but the IMDb reports as much in their chronology. Well, if I were studio execs in charge of ensuring the success of Batman Begins, I would not have wanted Harsh Times coming out anywhere near it. (gulp) Nor, however, would I want it coming out anywhere close to The Prestige either, though. Regardless, the film has finally made it to the cinema, and while Mr. Bale's performance won't hurt him too much in this year's Academy Award® race, the film itself might if many voters see it—which, hopefully, they won't. Ironically, it is sad when an actor delivers such incredible performances as Mr. Bale gave in American Psycho and The Machinist with nary a peep out of the Academy, so then on the tale of a brilliant performance as the Dark Knight followed by his extremely nomination-worthy performance as magician Alfred Borden in The Prestige, this occasionally powerful performance has to be placed smack dab between these and what early buzz is indicating is the performance of his career in the upcoming Rescue Dawn. If Harsh Times dampens enthusiasm for any potential nominations he might receive, that would be tragic and unjustified. The fact remains that actors need to act to make a living, and when brilliant roles are few and far between, sometimes taking a role in a not-so-great film can be far more challenging for the actor.
Christian Bale Buy From Art.com
Harsh Times, for fans of writer/director David Ayers (who wrote but did not direct Training Days) is, well, to be polite, not close to Training Days--not even 2nd cousins close. I'm positive that it would be very difficult to produce a script as good as Training Days twice in a life time, but not to belabor the point too much, Harsh Times is…okay, I'm belaboring the point too much. So, here're the basics to the story, and remember it's the story that makes a movie. Honorably discharged special opps soldier, Jim Davis (Christian Bale), who was apparently part of the torture-and-kill-for-information squad, has returned to Los Angeles hopefully to get a job with the LAPD. He crosses the border into Baja California to meet up with his girlfriend, Marta (Tammy Trull) whom he hopes to marry and bring to the USA. When he gets rejected by the LAPD for failing his psych evaluation, he and his likewise jobless buddy, Mike Alonzo (Freddy Rodríguez), go on their own missions to get wasted. Mike is supposed to be out distributing his résumé and looking for a job to please his long-time girlfriend and now lawyer Sylvia (Eva Longoria). Instead, he and Jim steal drugs from a drug dealer, drink as much beer while driving as possible, and then try to get Jim some action with a girl he once hung around with. This encounter leads the two down a path which, ultimately, spells doom…dah…dot…dum…for one of them. At the girl's house, Jim's advances are rebuked by the girl and her spiteful, venomous sister. Her new boyfriend, Flaco, arrives with his crew, and a beat down ensues. Mike pulls the car around just in time to supply the increasingly unstable Jim with a much needed firearm allowing him to take control of the situation and steal the wallets, drugs, and very expensive new firearm from Flaco's car. The two men also create a new set of mortal enemies. Hooting and hollering it up, Mike and Jim return to Jim's closet of an apartment to drink and make fake calls to Jim's answering machine so that Sylvia will think he's gotten some interviews from the résumés he passed out which Jim actually just threw out the window. If this is sounding like not such a great story so far, well, if you can believe it, it only gets worse and then even worse. If you can make it through the first hour without walking out, and I observed a lot of people walk out after 30 and 40 minutes, while the story is still terrible, it you can see Christian Bale's magic as he tries so hard to make this film worth watching. Meanwhile, to give some props to Freddy Rodríguez would be important because he really does to an amazing job with his character for the last half hour of the film which involves Jim convincing Mike and a friend names Toussant (Chaka Forman) to go on a trip with him to see Marta.
"…not even kissing-cousins of Training days…Bale and Rodríguez work tirelessly to make the most of their roles [but]…the point of the story…gets muddled somewhere."
Part of why this film's story just doesn't work is that it's never clear what the point is, to put it bluntly. What was Mr. Ayer trying to say? Was it that guys who have to participate in particularly nasty military missions may come back to see their lives implode? Jim Davis showed all the signs of post-traumatic distress syndrome, no doubt, but if this was the point of the film, it got clouded and detached with the whole 'girlfriend across the border' part. At times, the film reminded me a little of the old Michael Douglas 'jobless and mad at LA' film, Falling Down. The difference between the two films was that Mr. Ayers kept getting off point, assuming that was his point. Had he stuck to it, and had he found a way for either Jim to get some resolution or to wreak more of his havoc on those responsible for his situation, the story would have been more cohesive and sensible. The pace of the film, also, is uneven and erratic. This could have been effective had the spurts of action overlapped more closely to the timing of Jim's lapses of reason.
Well, in summary, and I do apologize for the harsh tone I've taken with Harsh Times, but if it had been me, having waiting over a year to release this film, I think I would have waited a bit longer and put this one out in February 2007 after the Oscar ballots will be in. I sincerely hope that this film will not negatively impact Mr. Bale's chances for a long-overdue Academy Award® nomination. His performance is wildly unlike anything he's ever done before, and he deserves credit despite the inadequacies of the script.
Well, in summary, and I do apologize for the harsh tone I've taken with Harsh Times, but if it had been me, having waiting over a year to release this film, I think I would have waited a bit longer and put this one out in February 2007 after the Oscar ballots will be in. I sincerely hope that this film will not negatively impact Mr. Bale's chances for a long-overdue Academy Award® nomination. His performance is wildly unlike anything he's ever done before, and he deserves credit despite the inadequacies of the script.
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Other Projects Featuring Harsh Times (2006)
Cast Members
Christian Bale
• Freddy Rodríguez • Eva LongoriaChaka Forman
• Tammy Trull • J.K. SimmonsMichael Monks
Writer / Director
David Ayer
| CD Soundtrack | DVD | VHS |
Harsh Times (2006) Review-lite [150-word cap]
Harsh Times, for fans of writer/director David Ayers (who wrote but did not direct Training Days), is not even kissing-cousin close to Training Days. Honorably discharged ranger, Jim Davis (Christian Bale), who was apparently part of the torture-and-kill-for-information squad, returns to Los Angeles to try to get a job with the LAPD. He crosses the border into Baja California to meet up with his girlfriend, Marta (Tammy Trull) whom he hopes to marry and bring to the USA. When he gets rejected by the LAPD for failing his psych evaluation, he and his likewise jobless buddy, Mike Alonzo (Freddy Rodríguez), conduct their own missions to get wasted, and the not so great story continues to worsen. While Bale and Rodríguez work tirelessly to make the most of their roles, the point of the story, reminiscent of Michael Douglas's 'jobless and mad at LA' film, Falling Down, gets muddled somewhere.
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