|
Movie Review - Harsh Times (2006)
|
|
|
|
|
(What this rating means)
|
|
| |
|
| Director: |
David Ayer |
| Starring: |
Christian Bale, Freddy Rodriguez, and Eva Longoria |
| Rated: |
R (for strong violence, language and drug use) |
| Length: |
120 minutes |
| Genre: |
Action/Crime/Drama |
| Tagline: |
None. |
| Studio: |
MGM |
| Website: |
Harsh Times |
| Release: |
November 10, 2006 |
|
PLOT
|
Jim Davis (Bale) is an ex-Army Ranger recently discharged from the military, yet still haunted by
nightmares of his former occupation. He tells himself that if he only had a job, everything would turn
around - he could marry his devoted girlfriend, Marta (Tammy Trull), bring her back to the United States from
Mexico and settle down.
While seeking a position with the LAPD, Jim kills time chilling with his best friend, Mike (Rodriguez).
Mike is feeling the heat from his longtime girlfriend, Sylvia (Longoria): either get a job or get out.
But the love of a beautiful woman can't compare to the bonds of friendship, and Jim and Mike are soon cruising
the streets of South Central, slipping back into a deceitful life of drugs, violence and petty crime, just like
when they were kids.
Without a moral compass to guide them, it is only a matter of time before these two misguided friends get lost
along a destructive and explosive path from which there is no turning back. Exceedingly harsh times ensue.
|
|
JOHNNY'S TAKE
|
Harsh times? That's an understatement. Depressingly harsh times might be more accurate. Or wrist-slittingly
harsh times, perhaps. Not only are the times within the movie harsh, but so is the time it takes to view this.
That doesn't mean it's a bad movie. It's not - it's well-done. But it's just hard to watch. Or harsh to
watch. All right, I'll stop with that - I promise.
What to say, what to say. Not yet having mastered the art of mind reading, I have no idea what you expect from
this film, but there's a good chance you're not going to get it. Unless you expect a good performance from
Christian Bale. Otherwise, this is a movie not easily recommended.
You just have to be in the right kind of mood to watch this much depravity and this much ugliness. You know,
similar to watching The View. The film never allows you a moment of comfort or hope. There's no joy here.
Nope. You need to go ahead and prepare to squint your eyes and grit those teeth. Get ready to be
jarred from your seat a couple of times. Anticipate being angered by the characters' decisions and their
inability to do simple things that could get them on the right track. It makes for a frustrating experience,
but in all fairness, that was David Ayer's intent.
You might also want to keep in mind that this is not a plot-driven movie. It's a character study. And the
characters aren't very likeable - a trait that is amplified by their very annoying "homeboy" talk. Bale and
Rodriguez drop the word "dude" almost as much as they drop the "f" bomb, and it just feels ... awkward. I
expected Ashton Kutcher and Sean William Scott to show up looking for their car.
It's all, "Yo bro, we gonna chill or what, dude?" "Yeah dude, we gonna chill tonight, bro." Back and forth,
back and forth. I guess I got used to it because it bothered me less as events moved along. Bale eventually
convinced me that he just might talk like that. Or maybe I managed to zone it out. At any rate, it's very
noticeable, and quite distracting at first.
Speaking of Bale, he has to be given major credit for taking a character who should be completely unlikable
and making me feel sympathetic towards him. He compelled me to keep watching. Jim Davis is constantly
simmering. He's a freight train waiting to derail. And you sit there and wait for the catastrophe.
The guy's a psycho, but he knows how to play the system like a piano. Psyche tests? Urine tests? Lie detector
tests? He's got 'em mastered. That's why, despite his instability, he's able to put himself into a position to
get a job with the Federal Government. He's scary. You don't know what he'll do next, and there's a chance
he'll explode at any minute, but you want to be watching if and when it happens, no matter how harsh it is.
Oops. I promised, didn't I? Sorry about that.
|
|
ODDS & ENDS
|
- Despite Johnny's fondness for the joke, this film was never known as Harsh Times at Ridgemont
High.
- David Ayer wrote Harsh Times a decade ago as a reflection on friendship on the mean streets of
Los Angeles.
- "The studios didn't get the story," Ayer says. "They liked the characters, the world, the attitude, but
the story ends tough. It was outside of their comfort zone. Everybody wasn't going to live and walk away and
be a happy person at the end. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been any point to making the movie."
Ayer bravely opted to violate a key tenet of movie financing, i.e. never use your own money. Ayer mortgaged
his house and financed the movie himself. "Independently, I've had total creative control," he says. "I have
no masters, no committee, to tell me how to screw the movie up, so it's been a pleasure."
- The film was shot over 26 days in Mexico and Los Angeles.
- Freddy Rodriguez is in the upcoming Grindhouse with Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin
Bacon.
|
|
MAMA'S APPROVAL
|
Ohhhhhhhhh no, I don't think so. Profanity runs as rampant as K-Fed's lack of talent. There are easily over
100 f-bombs - they were napalming my ears! There's no nudity, but there are a handful of sexual situations, and
there is violence and drug usage galore. This is so not for the easily offended or for those of you who simply
don't like spending your money to be depressed.
|
|
TRAILER COMPARISON
|
The trailer is a little misleading. I was expecting an action movie with Christian Bale playing some sort of
crooked cop who crosses the line to achieve whatever he needs. Yeah, not quite.
|
|
THE GIST
|
If you're a huge Christian Bale fan and you want to see him deliver a strong, Oscar-worthy performance, then
you'll definitely be sold on his performance, but I would suggest saving this for a rental. Honestly, it's
best to have the option to pause it and step away from the movie for a while if need be.
If you're in the mood for something fun and entertaining that will remove you from the troubles of your world
for a couple of hours then stay far, far away from Harsh Times. Even if you end up enjoying the film
there's a good chance you wouldn't be able to bring yourself to sit through it again. It's just too rough.
|
|
