We often see films that focus on the unrelenting brutality of America's urban culture's "mean streets." The film "Harsh Times" provide a balance between gang violence and the police forces.
November 12, 2006 (Press Release) --
We often see films that focus on the unrelenting brutality of America's urban culture's "mean streets." What fascinated me about writer-director David Ayer's "Harsh Times" is the intriguing yet simple way he broached the chasm between the worlds of gang violence and the police forces that attempt to control it -- and the parallel universe of corporate America that exists in such close proximity.
Christian Bale again demonstrates his phenomenal range as an actor. He's cast here as a troubled ex-Army Ranger, recently discharged but still wrestling with deep-rooted psychological problems and anger-management issues tied to his exposure to the brutality of war in the Middle East.
Bale's Jim Davis is a fascinating character study as he clearly possesses great talent, a strong desire to pursue a career in police work, and yet has a very tender and sensitive side to him.
Davis' best friend is a guy named Mike, like Jim, a product of Los Angeles' South Central neighborhood. Played by "Six Feet Under" star Freddy Rodriguez, Mike's a fellow who previously led a life noted for the following skills: the ability to drink beer constantly, do drugs and participate in various petty crime sprees. Mike lives with his longtime girlfriend Sylvia (Eva Longoria), who he helped get through law school, but who now expects him to find a real job himself and "go straight."
Jim and Mike are clearly damaged goods, but young men who possess important personal qualities that a good education, a good home environment or proper socioeconomic opportunities would have turned them into great candidates for good jobs and taught them how to act in their personal relationships.
Jim's tender and sensitive side shows in his dealing with Marta (Tammy Trull), a beautiful and loving Mexican woman living right across the border, a woman he knows he should marry. And yet, Jim's personal baggage complicates that relationship with an intriguing twist I won't reveal, but which adds great depth to the film's overall impact at the end. Mike, too, is the object of tremendous love from his girlfriend Sylvia, a woman who finds her love for him threatened by his constant slips and difficulty in telling her the truth. Instead of searching for a job, he spends his time hanging with Jim in their old haunts, drinking and drugging and finding themselves unnecessarily in dangerous, even life-threatening, circumstances.
Source: http://www.msn.com
Posted by Bill Zwecker
Christian Bale again demonstrates his phenomenal range as an actor. He's cast here as a troubled ex-Army Ranger, recently discharged but still wrestling with deep-rooted psychological problems and anger-management issues tied to his exposure to the brutality of war in the Middle East.
Bale's Jim Davis is a fascinating character study as he clearly possesses great talent, a strong desire to pursue a career in police work, and yet has a very tender and sensitive side to him.
Davis' best friend is a guy named Mike, like Jim, a product of Los Angeles' South Central neighborhood. Played by "Six Feet Under" star Freddy Rodriguez, Mike's a fellow who previously led a life noted for the following skills: the ability to drink beer constantly, do drugs and participate in various petty crime sprees. Mike lives with his longtime girlfriend Sylvia (Eva Longoria), who he helped get through law school, but who now expects him to find a real job himself and "go straight."
Jim and Mike are clearly damaged goods, but young men who possess important personal qualities that a good education, a good home environment or proper socioeconomic opportunities would have turned them into great candidates for good jobs and taught them how to act in their personal relationships.
Jim's tender and sensitive side shows in his dealing with Marta (Tammy Trull), a beautiful and loving Mexican woman living right across the border, a woman he knows he should marry. And yet, Jim's personal baggage complicates that relationship with an intriguing twist I won't reveal, but which adds great depth to the film's overall impact at the end. Mike, too, is the object of tremendous love from his girlfriend Sylvia, a woman who finds her love for him threatened by his constant slips and difficulty in telling her the truth. Instead of searching for a job, he spends his time hanging with Jim in their old haunts, drinking and drugging and finding themselves unnecessarily in dangerous, even life-threatening, circumstances.
Source: http://www.msn.com
Posted by Bill Zwecker
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