Harsh Times

Harsh Times, the kind of movie where every other line starts and ends with "dude," is the long-gestating love child of writer/director David Ayer, who wrote The Fast and the Furious, S.W.A.T. and most memorably Training Day, which won an Oscar for Denzel Washington. For his directorial debut, however, he has returned to this unproduced script, penned over a decade ago, and although extremely well casted and acted, the seams show. Set in the rough and tough neighborhoods of South Central L.A., the film is a dark, piercing look at two lifelong friends. Jim, (Christian Bale) is struggling since just getting back from the first Gulf War, and Mike (Freddy Rodriguez) is a trouble-prone "dude" perpetually unemployed and constantly lying about job prospects to the girlfriend (Eva Longoria in for a handful of scenes) he helped put through law school. Unfortunately, as the two embark on dead-end adventures on the streets of L.A., it's apparent the dark side of their lives will soon take its toll. Basically, these guys grew up together on the city's toughest corners, and no matter how hard they try, they can't seem to lift themselves out their own personal ghetto. Grim and somewhat predictable, the film does effectively show a part of Los Angeles tourists never see. The reason to see the movie is Bale, who can play slow-burning psychosis about as well as any actor today and is outstanding again. His performance is matched by the far more sympathetic Rodriguez as a guy who can't seem to get out of his own way. It's just a shame the duo couldn't have been working from a better script.