Out of the Furnace - Analytical Essay

Kevin Smock

7 December 2013

     Survival, unavoidable hardships, and most of all, revenge. Scott Cooper’s latest film, Out of the Furnace, certainly comprises all of these themes.

     The narrative structure of the film is quite basic aside from the ongoing question I had throughout the lengthy first act: Who is the protagonist? We’re forced to identify more with Russell since he’s a more likable guy, performing charitable acts towards his brother like paying the local bookie at the bar some of what Rodney owes as well as treating his girlfriend with true love during an early morning. The only reason he even leaves her side is to go to work so he can provide for her. The questioning really comes in when Russell is sent to jail. He gets in an automobile accident while a little buzzed and ends up killing a child. It really wasn’t his fault though, the other car pulled onto a main road blindly. This scenario falls under the unavoidable hardships theme

Anyway, it’s pretty difficult to cross the threshold into act two when you’re locked up. The second act of the film is really set into motion by Rodney when he requests to go up to the Ramapo Mountains to part take in the fight club, the money’s better. The folk up in the Ramapo’s are a different sort of breed though, constantly referred to as the “inbreds.” We’re actually introduced to the leader of the head inbred in charge before any other character in the film. Harlan DeGroat is at a drive in movie with his date. He ends up losing his temper which result in him choking his date with a hot dog and viciously injuring a man who intervenes in the choking situation.

The first dramatic complication occurs when Russell actually has an encounter with Harlan in the sketchy, gambling office of the PA bar. It’s completely unrelated to the conflict that eventually boils down in the film, but as an audience we figure out that these will be the two opposing forces.

     The midpoint of the film occurs when Rodney and the head bookie are killed by the inbreds because the bookie still owes some money. Luckily for Russell and everyone back home, the head bookie was calling another bookie, so it was all recorded to his voicemail. Now, everyone has a direction to point their finger towards.

     The climax of the film boils down to Russell –vs- Harlan as opposed to Rondey –vs- Harlan. The climax begins the same way the initial complication occurs, in the backroom of the PA bar. This is a nice way to bring the conflict full circle. Russell successfully guns down Harlan in an immensely suspenseful scene in which Russell has planned out by anonymously calling Harlan as the bookie who’s taking over the head bookie’s account and states that if he wants the money he must come to PA. So, Russell is expecting Harlan and company to arrive. The narration is unrestricted at this point in the sense that was we know Russell’s intention to kill Harlan, but he has no clue. The rhythm in which this scene is cut is completely gripping.

     The third act of the film is only really composed of one shot, which includes Russell sitting a table against a window with a vista of the Rust Belt of Pennsylvania. This shot is reminiscent of the shot in the first act where Russell is in bed with Lena. Russell has come a long way since then and although he may have experienced a lot of emotional lows, he has still sought revenge for his brother. We’re not sure of Russell’s destiny and his future is left open ended.

     The strength of this film lies in its conceptual editing and all the parallels. The first parallel we’re exposed to is representative of the protagonist and the antagonist. Our first view of Harlan shows him sadistically choking his date with a hot dog. One of our first views of Russell is him speaking with his girlfriend about going to work. He states something along the lines of, “I gotta bring home the bacon to fatten you up.” This connection of food with a significant other and opposing the fashion in which they’re employed shows us the compassion that Russell possesses and the animosity in which Harlan contains.

     Another parallel, and one that also helps to complete Russell’s character arc, occurs at the midpoint and the climax. During the midpoint of the film, scenes of Russell and his uncle hunting are crosscut with Rodney and the bookie in the Ramapo Mountains. The events are completely synonymous between the two lines of action and very delicately crafted in the cutting room. The cutting is completely symmetrical. The preparation for the hunting is shown, then Rodney’s preparation for the fight is shown; Russell and his uncle walking around the woods, then Rodney walking out into the ring; etc. The symmetrical rhythm is broken when Russell isn’t capable of going for the kill of the deer. This moment is really emphasized and sticks with us. He lets the deer go, and eventually his uncle is left to kill the deer. On the other line of action, with Rodney, he is not let go. He’s forced to throw the fight for gambling reasons, leaving him beat beyond belief. Then, it seems the bookie and Harlan haven’t squared away their financial settlements. Harlan decides to cut his losses and catch Rodney and the bookie while they’re on their way out of town. He shoots both of them dead, which is executed with surprise, opposed to how the climax uses suspense. The crosscutting is effective in a number of ways. It establishes Russell as a peaceful man at this point in his life and also the dead deer at the end of the scene is a metaphor for Rodney’s death. Then, during the climax of the film, where dramatic irony leaves us anxious as can be, the same shot of Russell aiming his gun is shown. This time though, it’s not a deer he’s aiming at, it’s Harlan. This time though, he has the motivation to kill. He’s been through enough at this point, he has changed, and he wants revenge most of all.

     Out of the Furnace is also full of valuable motifs. Russell is attacked badly twice in the film. Once physically in jail where he is jumped by a few other inmates. After the fact, he sits in pain while the camera tracks back slowly. Digressing a bit, but after this occurs, Rodney arrives at the jail to inform him that his father has died. It could be that Cooper chose to substitute the explicit showing of the death by instead showing Russell being physically hurt and then only explicitly stating the death after the physical beat up. The fight serves as a metonymic device for the death. Getting back on track with the motif at hand. Once Russell gets out of jail, he attempts to rekindle his love with Lena. They meet up, and Lena breaks his heart by telling him she’s pregnant. This is something that Lena has always wanted with Russell, this was established in act one. Left heartbroken on the bridge, Russell sits and weeps as the camera tracks back slowly. Again, this mirrors the shot of him being physically beat up in jail.

     Fighting as a whole is an important aspect in the film and it’s hinted at very early on. Once Russell is done with work he heads over to a sort of betting hall that Rodney is hanging out at. They’re speaking with one another outside. This is where Russell offers him money initially but Rodney declines. The banter is light hearted and extremely brotherly and they throw fake punches towards one another while discussing money. Fights and money, even though at this time it’s mentioned in an innocent fashion, become an extremely important factor concerning the conflict of the film. This small scene foreshadows what will become a huge problem throughout the film.

     An auditory motif is also setup in the film, which I especially admire. The sound of train tracks are an indication of danger and change in the film, very similar to Ford Coppola’s The Godfather when Michael is out to dinner and assigned to kill the two men he is dining with from one of the rival families. Train sounds become extremely prominent when Rodney finally convinces one of the bookies to get him a fight in the Ramapo’s. Again, this scene essentially starts the second act of the film so developing a motif at that turning point was extremely witty of Cooper. The train sound is again heard when Russell finds out from the authorities that Harlan has possibly killed his brother. Then, the sound is present during the climax when Russell follows Harlan into the bar. To really wrap up the motif, Russell forces Harlan to walk on the train tracks while he has a gun wound in his leg. Although we don’t hear the train, we see the tracks.

     Each time Russell is heart broken by Lena (once upon finding out she’s seeing another man and then again once he finds out she’s pregnant) he does repairs around the house. This motif is also visible in a highly influential Japanese film titled Chungking Express by director Wong Kar-wai. Officer 633’s girlfriend leaves him, which causes him to fall into a state of depression. The girl from the restaurant he constantly visits continuously breaks into his apartment and rearranges it for the better. Reason being is if his surroundings are changed, then maybe he’ll do the same. Well, perhaps that’s the same idea Cooper was going for. Either way, it surely communicated the idea of moving on and progressing, which he does by seeking revenge for his brother.

     Out of the Furnace proved to be a thought out, intelligent film full of witty parallels and motifs. Many repetitions were established and as the story progressed, these repetitions varied to a degree that perfectly complemented the story as well as the characters' mindset.