8) Out Of The Furnace
Scott Cooper, as he’s proved time and time again, is a great actors’ director with little idea of how to tell a story. With the forgettable Crazy Heart, he directed Jeff Bridges to his first Oscar, and with the stodgy Black Mass, he gave Johnny Depp his comeback. And, in between those two movies, he directed Christian Bale to his most underrated performance.
Out of the Furnace, in typical Cooper fashion, is a series of great acting turns lost in a faulty narrative. Bale is phenomenal, however, as a small-town steelworker coming out of prison to find his world changed. Bale’s scenes are the reason to track this one down: his barely-contained relief at being released from jail after years; his tearful reconnection with old flame Zoe Saldana. It’s Bale at his most touching and least flashy.