Great movie - a guilty pleasure of mine
** SPOILERS **
I love this movie. Plain and simple. It's something of a guilty pleasure of mine. I just really enjoy watching it.
Christian Bale plays Jim, who is an Army veteran who saw heavy combat in his Army days. The movie alludes to the fact Jim has some sort of PTSD from the Army. I think Christian Bale did a great job with this role. There are multiple scenes throughout the movie that show Jim is an asshole and a dishonest person, some examples:
1) When he is testing for Homeland Security and supposed to be on his best behavior but tells the Asian recruit that his mother sucks d***. Continuously blowing on the Asian guy's ear. Then smacking him on the shoulder and going in front of him for the piss test.
2) Calling Mike's girlfriend (Sylvia) and pretending to be a job interviewer to help out Mike.
3) Putting the gun to Marta's head after she tells him she is pregnant.
4) Stealing the drugs from the guy on the street corner
5) Drinking while driving
The movie shows all these moments for Jim but in the end after he gets shot and is dying I still feel sorry for him. Yea, maybe he had it coming, but I can't help but think he was fucked up in the head, and a lot of that had to do with the military.
I really enjoyed the relationship between Mike and Sylvia and Jim. Mike seemed like a good guy deep down. He wanted to do right by Sylvia. He obviously loved her and multiple times throughout the movie he expresses the fact he doesn't want to lie to her, or feels bad lying to her, doesn't want to cheat on her, and wants to be by her side. But Mike was caught in the middle of that relationship and his friendship with Jim. Jim was such a strong personality and he completely took over when he was around Mike. Mike felt obligated to go along with whatever plans Jim had when they were hanging out. You could tell he didn't really want to but felt he had to.
The ending scene was very good after Mike shoots Jim to put him out of his misery. Mike runs home and finds Sylvia about ready to leave for good. Mike runs up the stairs and embraces her and is crying and emotional. I think that scene said a lot. Mike was distraught over Jim's death, but I think that moment was a wake up call too. I think Mike realized Jim is gone forever and can't control Mike's emotions anymore. And Mike realizes how close he was to losing Sylvia and he never wants to lose her again. I truly believe Mike and Sylvia stayed together and eventually got married.
I fully realize this movie isn't on par with the likes of Shawshank Redemption or The Godfather, but I really enjoy this movie for what it is.
9/10