As if transfixed by a role that matches in emotional extremes the physical extremes he embraced in "The Mechanist," Bale takes possession of his crazed character here to an alarming degree. Haunted by Gulf War memories, his Jim Davis is still perfectly capable of dressing in coat and tie and putting on a responsible, civilized front, as well as of convincing his south-of-the-border girlfriend that he loves her and will get her a visa to come to the U.S.
But left to his own devices, Jim is a world-class screw-up, an overloaded circuit of nasty attitudes, devilish intentions and antisocial and illegal proclivities whose only predictable trait is to incite confrontation and violence. . . .
As a study of mental imbalance and living two lives at once, Bale's work here can be placed on the same shelf as his chilling performance in "American Psycho." Actor's investment in Jim Davis seems complete, his transformations between the two sides of his personality seamless and frighteningly convincing.
But left to his own devices, Jim is a world-class screw-up, an overloaded circuit of nasty attitudes, devilish intentions and antisocial and illegal proclivities whose only predictable trait is to incite confrontation and violence. . . .
As a study of mental imbalance and living two lives at once, Bale's work here can be placed on the same shelf as his chilling performance in "American Psycho." Actor's investment in Jim Davis seems complete, his transformations between the two sides of his personality seamless and frighteningly convincing.