Harsh Times
In the scene when Jim (Christian Bale) and Mike ('Freddie Rodriguez') visit Darrell (Terry Crews), after shooting the scripted material, they found they still had the location for two hours, so they began to improvise. They ended up with a thirty minute scene of the three of them talking about their lives in-character. According to Christian Bale, it was one of the funniest experiences of his career.,After Mike shoots Jim, he leaves his pistol in the car with his fingerprints still on it. Assuming the police will eventually discover the crime, they will have no problem linking Mike to it because of his prints, especially since he already has a police record.,Jim Davis: I'm a soldier of the apocalypse, man!,Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan/Flushed Away/Unknown/Volver/Stranger Than Fiction (2006),Murlo la Flor
Written by Germaín de la Fuente and Nano Concha
Performed by Los Angeles Negros
Courtesy of EMI Records
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music,Ayers explores the friendship of Jim (Christian Bale), a former soldier, and Mike (Freddy Rodriguez), who's married to a beautiful lawyer (Sylvia) and is unemployed. While Jim eagerly awaits to be employed as a federal agent, he spends his free time with Mike as they hit the road and get stoned. Meanwhile, Mike, although the more rational one, fools his wife by tricking her into thinking that he's handing out resumes while he postpones his search for employment by giving in to peer pressure.

The setting is similar to that of Fuqua's 'Training Day'. David Ayers wrote the screenplay for both movies. His exploration of themes such as friendship, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, racism and unemployment are brilliantly finely woven into this character driven piece. There were a few occasions when the racism angle felt a little overdone. An example is the sequence where Jim is offered a post in Colombia and he attempts to explain his situation with his Mexican girlfriend. The reaction he meets felt a little over-the-top.

The execution is simplistic and good. The setting looked very real. The beautiful Mexican landscape contrasts well with the harsh LA streets and it mirrors Jim's internal conflict.

Bale's subtle depiction of his torment (that is eventually explosive) and his on screen reaction to his co-stars are brilliant. There are a couple of scenes where he tends to overact but otherwise he is very good as this tormented soul with a phony exterior. His accent was laughable but it felt authentic as it suited the character. Rodriguez is terrific all the way. He provides some excellent comic relief and his performance appears spontaneous and natural. His scenes with Bale and Longoria are the highlights of 'Harsh Times'. Eva Longoria and Tammy Trull are effective in supporting roles.

'Training Day' has a more Hollywood ending than 'Harsh Times'. Perhaps this ending does not hold an appeal as universal which is why it did not receive as much recognition. While it is too dramatic, it came as a surprise. Nonetheless, David Ayers's 'Harsh Times' is an interesting character study even though slightly flawed in parts.,