This film seemed like a blip on the radar screen when it was released in theaters. Interesting, considering Bale’s star is rising and his name recognition has increased since Batman. Having seen Bale put in some pretty intense performances, I was anxious to see this movie when it was released on DVD.

So here I sit, less than 24 hours after I watched it (last night) and I’m not sure how to explain this movie or if I would recommend it to my fellow Outlaws – even to hardcore Bale fans.

Bale’s character dominates the movie; so in most respects, its success or failure rests with how convincingly he pulls you into his tortured psyche and makes the viewer understand how he does, or does not, fit in the world around him.

I read a couple reviews on Amazon that compare this movie, and Bale’s character, Jim Davis, to Taxi Driver. Unfortunately, Travis Bickle he ain’t. Though the characters follow the same formula -- slowly degrading to the point where they lose touch with reality and go berserk -- Bickle succeeds, because there’s some continuity from start to finish. We can follow Bickle slowly crumbling before our eyes until the violent climax at the end of the film.

In comparison, Jim Davis’ fit in the Latino gang world of Los Angeles seems bizarre from the get-go. Add to that the often forced-sounding street lingo Bales rattles off throughout the film, and he begins to fall into the same camp as Vanilla Ice or Eminem: a white boy trying to be “boyz in da’ hood.” With the viewer struggling to get past the hood-poseur shtick, Davis never seems totally legit’. Lastly, unlike Bickle, where you can clearly follow the mental fault lines as they develop, getting in sync with Bale's treatment of Davis' breakdown is like driving around lost: Just where the hell are we going and when are we going to get there?

The movie had its moments, and there were a couple good shoot ‘em up scenes to keep things lively. The bass track was interesting too. One scene included a bass-thumping low rider rolling through. My normally taut LFM-1 rendered the bass notes with a strange sense of realism: a big, muddy mess -- just like those crap car stereos you hear at traffic lights.

Best,

- VD