Review of Harsh Times (2005) by Sean H — 08 Aug 2008

CHRISTIAN Bale is one of the most uncompromising actors in movies. But sometimes he seems to need us to suffer for his art, too.

Harsh Times is a case in point. The brainchild of Training Day writer David Ayer, the film tracks the unremittingly depressing adventures of Gulf War veteran Jim Davis, who - despite being a depressive, drug and drink-ridden wreck - has one hope: to join the Los Angeles Police.

Harsh Times follows him for a few days, as he wastes time with best friend Mike (the excellent Freddy Rodriguez), hunting for drugs, booze and whores on both sides of the Mexican border. Along the way, they get hold of a gun and people start getting killed. Zzzzzzzzz.

There are some amusing scenes as Jim tries to con his way into the police force, but overall this is dull as ditchwater. The script seems to believe it's shedding light into some dark, rarely seen corners of human nature. In fact, it's just a wearing and ultimately futile trip into oblivion with one hopeless character and another who's simply beyond redemption.

For all Bale's (too obvious) efforts to show us the heart of his self-destructive character, even he struggles in vain to make Davis any more than a charmless idiot.

Bale, an actor who never looks like he's enjoying himself on-screen, seems to be going through sheer torture here. After 20 minutes, you'll know exactly how he feels. Confronted with his co-star's melodramatic self-indulgence, poor Rodriguez looks genuinely bemused, like he just wants to give Bale a hug and a warm glass of milk. It's a long way from Batman - which is presumably at least partly the point - but also light years away from interesting drama.

Both guys have partners. Jim wants to marry Marta (Tammy Trull), who lives in a hut in Mexico, and Mike is being nagged to find a proper job by girlfriend Sylvia (Eva Longoria), who has lifted herself out of Mike's aimless circle through sheer hard work.

Both women have more going for them than the blokes - in the little we see of her, the short-changed Sylvia is potentially the most interesting character - and both deserve more screen time. But Ayer isn't interested in them at all. This is a boys-only club and it's the boys we are going to watch, even if they are a pair of slugs whose increasingly violent antics add up to nothing meaningful at all.

Ayer is trying to examine friendship and loyalty, through the political perspective of the returning war veteran.

But I couldn't work out why Jim Davis would have any friends in the first place. In real life, you'd cross the street to avoid him. Probably best to do the same with this film. You know, just to be on the safe side...