Here's a guy who's been in the industry long enough to know how cool it would be to be a 'Tom Cruise' or a certain 'Brad Pitt', but still manages to look exactly how his characters are supposed to look like. This is not to say that the above mentioned guys are bad actors..in fact, they have more than proven themselves to be capable actors in a variety of films. But I felt somehow they always managed to carry the "Superstar" tag along with their characters all through their films. Don't blame them!
Now that reminds me of another one of Bale's highly acclaimed performances, "American Psycho". This character study/noir/dark comedy/abstract/whatever-you-wanna-call-it movie is so damningly bent upon the protagonist's self-possessiveness and madness, that I imagine it would take a herculean effort to actually play this with a straight face. But Bale does it with so much style and panache that you feel that this guy actually exists! I remember watching this movie in a hotel room in Copenhagen, Denmark after a tiring day at work. It made me sit up straight and take notice of the way Patrick Bateman's character just lets loose and grab you by the scruff of the neck and tell you.."&^%&$#@!". It's actually a pretty disturbing movie, but Bale's performance is so effective that you dont notice anything else here.
I am yet to watch "Rescue Dawn" which they say also has one of Bale's best performances.
"3:10 to Yuma" is in itself a re-make of an old classic with a little tweaking here and there. It's basically a story about two guys, one bad and the other good-tryin-to-be-brave. No complaints here about the casting, and everyone delivers. Although the premise seems to be something you would have seen in a lot of movies before, the story is handled with utmost sincerity. The two men in focus here are as different as chalk and cheese. One, an outlaw wanted for his robberies and murders; the other a simple rancher who has had a not so rosy past. Both Crowe and Bale are great in their scenes together, but I can definitely say this..If only the director had a change of heart and reversed their roles...I can just imagine fireworks! Now coming back to the story..a simple one here with not many complications and how the two characters handle themselves, each other and look at life in general is what the director wants to show. Lovely cinematography and excellent acting makes this a must-watch!
To end this on a prophetic note, if I ever get into making my own short film, Cristian Bale would be my first choice to play Leonard in my version of "Memento". :-)
P.S - In case you are wondering what the hell happened to me all these days, I just took a break..from being 'jobless' at work to being productive!
