Harsh Times (indeed...)

Yesterday I caught a movie, which I was persuaded to see by a friend (he shall remain nameless!). The film we saw was called, "Harsh Times". I have to say, that it was quite moving, pretty violent and gritty . What really made the whole thing click was the acting, if truth be told the story is actually quite simple, a couple of friends who are supposed to be out driving looking for jobs, instead goof around and step by step get caught into some pretty heavy shit.

One friend is an ex ranger who has been honorably discharged from the army having served a tour in Afghanistan. "Jim", the ex ranger also carries a lot baggage from his experiences in Afghanistan and you can't help but feel for him as tries desperately to cope. The other friend, "Mike" (played by Freddy Rodriguez) is an out of work estate agent, who is trying to find a job to show "his woman" that he isn't just a bum. You get the impression that the fact he is unemployed is a slur on his masculinity, and he feels belittled as his girlfriend tries to motivate him in being more proactive.

Christian Bale absolutely owned the role he played ("Jim"), and in all the supporting cast complemented each other equally well. The scary thing is, it made me think just how many people are out there like the character played by Christian Bale. I don't want to divulge too much, except to say my friend and I ended up discussing what (if any) rehabilitation programs were available for serving military who have been trained up to do one thing only - to follow orders without question (ie kill), to re-adjust back into society.

The film is very similar in form to "Training Day", not surprisingly as "Harsh Times" was written by the same writer, David Ayer (first time director). I really do recommend making the time to see the movie, admittedly it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea. However if want to see something powerful, emotional and absorbing, this film definitely scores on all 3 counts.