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From the
creator of Training Day comes Harsh
Times, a gritty look at friendship,
loyalty and ambition set on the
extremely rough streets of south central
Los Angeles.
Jim
Davis, a post Iraq vet, returns to the
inner city with high aspirations of
becoming a police officer and bringing
his immigrant girlfriend Marta (Tammy
Trull) to the states to marry her and
put his past behind him. But
unfortunately, Davis’ lies catch up to
him and his war duty’ are called upon
for a new venture that will leave his
girlfriend a world behind and resurrect
haunting experiences of war in his mind.
As Davis
discovers his life is what it is, friend
Mike is discovering Davis’ bad temper
along the way. Mike is trying to change
his life with longtime girlfriend Sylvia
who wants him desperately to straighten
up and fly right. She is however aware
that his company, Davis, is harsh and
many a time difficult to control. She
wants him out of the picture.
Christian Bale (Jim Davis) and Freddy
Rodriguez (Mike) play the roles
perfectly as the two wastes the day
smoking weed and getting into lots of
trouble.
Certainly there will be remarks
regarding the realities that this film
touches but unfortunately for those who
are shocked and appalled by these
graphic depictions, writer David Ayer is
true to form.
With his
directorial debut, Ayer’ body of work
reflects the ‘harsh’ realism of ghettos;
i.e. the hood, barrio and the streets.
Don’t let the suits fool you. Ambitious
thugs are everywhere as characters Jim
and Mike take the audience back to the
times when men would bond for hours
while riding in cars and stop by friends
houses for a smoke or drink.
Harsh
Times does mimic Training Day in its set
up by having 2 people ride around the
city making stops along the way. Living
a life differently than what is expected
of them.
It also
creates a visual of life not necessarily
in the hood but in any household as
plenty of men has a ‘civilized’ wife and
a ‘chic’ or ‘mistresses on the side.
What was
immediately different about Harsh Times
if you compare it to Training Day was
the Latino family. Consisting of Mike
and longtime girlfriend Sylvia (Eva
Longoria) the two were middle class as
sometimes stereotypical storylines
suggest a ton of Spanish people live in
a dilapidated household ridden with way
too many persons to count. While in this
film it’s the white boy, Jim Davis who
lives in a poor neighborhood almost
reflective of a more modern upgraded
shanty town. A twist unexpected by most
but not viewers who know the hood has no
color lines.
Picture
a painting that drives reality home in
your heart. Picture a friendship that is
tested and picture loyalty and trust.
With all of those ups and downs this
picture best represents those Harsh
Times.
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