OUT OF THE FURNACE (Rated R)

In only his second feature film, director and writer Scott Cooper (“Crazy Heart”) takes audiences on an intense, brutal journey into the heart of a dying Rust Belt town where dreams are fading fast in “Out of the Furnace.”

The hardscrabble hamlet of Braddock, Pennsylvania, home to generations of American steel workers, is a recession-weary place that has taken its toll on the local citizens as jobs disappear.

Russell Baze (Christian Bale) is the stalwart grunt at the local steel mill, working under dangerous conditions at the blast furnace. Russell plies his trade as a matter of duty, honor and respect for family tradition, even while his father is dying of cancer.

Meanwhile, Russell’s younger brother Rodney (Casey Affleck), who had escaped the depressing confines of his hometown by enlisting for several tours of duty in the Iraq war, is having trouble finding an emotional or financial footing in the place where he grew up.

Impulsive and often volatile, the unemployed war vet Rodney tries to make ends meet by betting on horses and competing as a bare-knuckle boxer.

Getting deep in debt to his bookie John Petty (Willem Dafoe), Rodney is constantly bailed out of trouble by Russell.

Stoic and steadfast, Russell is loyal to his family, which includes beloved Uncle Red (Sam Shepard), a solid citizen and good hunting partner. Russell is also devoted to his girlfriend Lena (Zoe Saldana).

A cruel twist of fate lands Russell in a stretch of hard time in prison as the result of a very unfortunate circumstance. Sadly, there’s little he can do from the inside to help his family, particularly the trouble-prone Rodney.

With life becoming harder for the Baze family, it’s at this point that the film’s violent opening scene of senseless violence comes to be understood as a precursor of difficult times that now lie ahead.

Woody Harrelson’s Harland DeGroat, a vicious sociopath, is the leader of a ruthless backwoods crime ring that hides out from the law and civilization in the inaccessible Ramapo Mountains of New Jersey.

DeGroat’s penchant for casual cruelty is evident from the beginning when he terrorizes his girlfriend at a drive-in movie by viciously shoving a cigar down her throat as the result of some perceived slight.

Coming to her rescue is a bystander, but DeGroat, hopped up on drugs and fueled with rage, administers a ferocious beating that leaves the man prone on the ground like a victim of the infamous Knockout Game.

While Russell is away during his incarceration, Rodney gets deeper into debt and trouble, causing the normally even-tempered John Petty to become more agitated as the result of his own increased indebtedness to the depraved DeGroat.

Once released from prison, Russell comes to understand that the world has changed for the worse for him, and for his family. For one thing, Lena is living with the local sheriff (Forest Whitaker) and is now pregnant, causing emotional pain to be so evident in the way Russell carries himself.

Even more troubling is that Rodney has gotten completely out-of-control on his gambling debts, to the point that he’s unwisely begging his bookie to set up a lucrative bare-knuckle match that is run by DeGroat’s criminal enterprise.

Unfortunately, there’s nothing that Russell can do or say to dissuade his younger sibling from making an extremely bad decision to throw in with DeGroat’s corrupt and violence-fueled world.

Petty and Rodney set off for a big fight in the remote mountains of New Jersey and never return. At this point, it is clear that DeGroat’s depravity and Russell’s implacable moral code inevitably put them on a collision course that will alter the course of their lives.

After pleading vainly with the authorities for intervention, Russell decides that it is up to him to step in and bring justice for his brother where others are afraid to act.

Calm and collected, the brooding, reflective Russell seems an unlikely vigilante. There’s a scene where he could not pull the trigger with an easy shot on a deer. So how is it that he can take up arms to track down the man responsible for his brother’s disappearance?

The answer rests with Russell’s emotional journey to redeem both himself and his brother. He’s not exactly Charles Bronson in “Death Wish.” Keeping DeGroat clearly in sight, Russell’s moves are calculated to minimize any collateral damage and maintain a sense of balance.

“Out of the Furnace” is not always fluid in its storyline, but it does set up many scenes that are at once electric, powerful and poignant. The superb cast brings great strength and intensity to the performances.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.