After returning from a six-year tour of duty with the US Rangers, Jim David (Bale) now sees his future in law enforcement but as he returns to his old neighbourhood in South Central Los Angeles to spend time with his best friend Mike Alvarez (Rodríguez). Mike sees that his friend has changed and because of pressure from his girlfriend Sylvia (Longoria) to get a job and give up his old ways, he tries to get Jim to help him sort his life out. Things don’t go according to plan however as they get pulled back into the darker side of L.A. and Jim’s behaviour becomes more and more erratic and dangerous.

Successfully mixing character driven, independent movies and big Hollywood blockbusters is not a feat that many actors can pull of but Christian Bale can show you how it is done.

One of the most gifted actors working in cinema today, Christian Bale effortlessly switches between studio pictures and indie cinema. From starring as the Dark Knight in ‘Batman Begins’, he can transform himself into an unrecognisable, bag of bones in ‘The Machinist’, the actor is almost chameleon like and shows unparalleled dedication to a character and a project unlike many big name actors working today.
For ‘Harsh Times’ he joins forces with ‘Training Day’ writer David Ayer for his directorial debut and creates another character that will be a highlight of his career. Jim David is a character that you are not going to forget in a hurry. Traumatised by his six years in the US Rangers stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq, Jim returns to his neighbourhood in South Central Los Angeles and to try and get a dream job in law enforcement. If he does this, he can marry Marta, the love of his life who lives across the border in Mexico and get her a visa but when the LAPD turns him down he falls back into his old habits of drink and drugs. Christian Bale creates a character that is immensely troubled but also very unlikeable. This makes it hard to see what Mike see in him other than they childhood and neighbourhood bond. It is Bale’s performance that makes the character completely engrossing and impossible to take your eyes off, proving again that he is one of the most talented actors working in movies today.

Supporting Christian Bale are two performers that are better known for their television careers. After playing Federico Diaz in ‘Six Feet Under’, Freddy Rodríguez plays a completely different kind of character in Mike Alvarez. After been laid off from his job and under pressure from his girlfriend to find another one, Mike doesn’t spend the day giving out resumes but instead hangs out with Jim and joins him getting into trouble, getting high and drinking. This is a very different role from the undertaker he played for five seasons and it shows that he is an actor who has the talent to move away from the character that made him famous. Arguably one of the most beautiful women working in Hollywood today, Eva Longoria is trying to leave her ‘Desperate Housewives’ character behind her by moving into movies during the break between seasons of the hit show. By starring in a smaller budget, character driven film she gets the chance to act, even though her part isn’t that big she does enough to make an impact. The rest of the cast are pretty inconsequential with only a few making an impression, most noticeably Tammy Trull as Marta, Noel Gugliemi as Flaco and the always-brilliant J.K. Simmons as Agent Richards.

‘Harsh Times’ is a no holds barred thriller that shows the rougher side of living in South Central Los Angeles. It also deals with what happens when soldiers return from the war and the psychological effects of following orders and the nightmares that come from reliving battles and the things they had to do in war. It is the performances of Christian Bale and Freddy Rodríguez that draw you into the hard hitting story however. While this might be a little too gritty and realistic for some, as the film doesn’t hold back on language and violence, this is completely riveting material and a lesson in acting from the two talented performers.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the movie is presented well.

BONUS FEATURES

Making of Featurette (24.26 mins)
Writer/director David Ayer, stunt coordinator Michael Sarna and stars Christian Bale, Freddy Rodríguez, Eva Longoria, Samantha Esteban, Terry Crews and Chaka Forman take you behind the scenes of ‘Harsh Times’. The first time director reveals how the film came about, financing the movie himself and gathering together his cast. The cast and crew talk about making the movie and working with David Ayer, as well as the preparation and training the cast had to go through to get ready for the film. This is a good and honest behind the scenes featurette that reveals much about low budget filmmaking.

Production Photography Gallery
Viewing production and publicity shots from the movie

Other Releases
Previews of ‘Outlaw’, ‘Big Nothing’ and ‘Perfume: The Story of a Murder’

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for ‘Harsh Times’ is average but there is just enough for fans to enjoy. The featurette is very good however, really what it is like to produce a low budget, self funded movie that the cast and crew have thrown everything into. Fans should be pleased but slightly disappointed with the lack of a commentary track. – Real Movie News