Out of the Furnace

Out of the Furnace is a 2013 American crime drama film directed by Scott Cooper, from a screenplay by Cooper and Brad Ingelsby. Starring Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Forest Whitaker, Willem Dafoe, Zoë Saldana, and Sam Shepard, the film follows a Pennsylvania steel mill worker searching for his missing Iraq War veteran brother, who disappeared after engaging in a bare knuckle fighting match arranged by an indebted bar owner and a ruthless New Jersey drug dealer. Out of the Furnace was theatrically released in the United States on December 6, 2013, and was a box office failure, grossing $15.7 million against its $22 million budget. The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics, and the performances of the cast earned widespread praise. At the 18th Satellite Awards, Affleck was nominated for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. Plot Steel mill worker Russell Baze sees his brother, Rodney, at a horse racing simulcast. Rodney reveals the money he bet with - and lost - was lent by John Petty, who owns a bar and runs several illegal games. Russell visits Petty, pays off part of Rodney's debt, and promises to pay the rest. Driving home intoxicated, Russell hits a car, killing its occupants, and is incarcerated for vehicular manslaughter. While Russell is in prison, his ailing father dies and his girlfriend Lena leaves him for police chief Wesley Barnes. After serving his sentence, Russell returns home and resumes his job. The same day, Rodney participates in an illegal bareknuckle prize fight. He was supposed to take a "dive" to repay some of the debt, but becomes enraged when beat up and defeats his opponent instead. The next morning, Russell finds Rodney's bloodied knuckle tapes and confronts him about it. Russell urges Rodney to work in the mill, but Rodney, a four-tour Iraq war veteran, is too mentally scarred for a regular job.