Woody Harrelson Is Terrifying in ‘Out of the Furnace’

Out of the Furnace is just one of the movies where Woody Harrelson is scary as hell. It’s hard to believe that this intimidating man got his start as the dimwitted bartender Woody in Cheers. 

Then again, I guess it’s not hard to believe when you remember that Harrelson’s father was a hitman. Woody obviously didn’t follow his father’s career path, but it’s hard not to believe that the killer instinct wasn’t passed down in some aspect. You can see the intensity of the man in his films.

Out of the Furnace is one of Harrelson’s best performances as a terrifying villain. Seeing him on screen is like seeing a horror movie monster.

The Appearance of a Killer

In real life, Woody Harrelson is far from an intimidating guy. He’s a skinny, vegan dude who played the white guy in White Men Can’t Jump. But when the camera is on, a switch flips. Harrelson becomes a cold-blooded killer in Out of the Furnace. Even just looking into his eyes, you can see the kind of crazy, sociopathic man he is. It’s a frightening transition that makes the film all the more engaging.

Even with his lanky frame, you feel like the man is twice his height and weight. Harrelson’s character, Curtis DeGroat, is a crime lord in the backwoods of Pennsylvania. To earn the kind of respect he entails, it’s obvious he isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. We see examples of this throughout the film, though it’s almost unnecessary with how well Harrelson sells it. He would never have to pick up a gun or throw a punch for the audience to believe he is capable of terrible things.

One of the best scenes that truly shows this is when DeGroat meets Rodney Baze (Casey Affleck) for the first time. DeGroat coldly analyzes Rodney, getting up in his face and letting him know who the boss is. He even lightly slaps Rodney at one point. Though Rodney is tough and stands his ground, I can only imagine the underlying panic in just seeing DeGroat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ur2caKxtyg

Quiet Terror

Woody Harrelson is one of those actors who have mastered the art of being quiet yet terrifying. It’s the type of personality one sees in all the best movie villains, like Norman Bates, Michael Myers, and Anton Chigurh. One doesn’t have to yell and bluster around to show their power. It’s all about intimidation. Make the audience use their imagination to visualize what the villain can really do.

A small snarl or a menacing laugh can go a long way. DeGroat doesn’t have to yell to get attention in Out of the Furnace. He can simply stand up and a room of people will turn their attention to him. When John Petty (Willem Dafoe) shows up to introduce Rodney to DeGroat, DeGroat casually mentions the money that Petty owes him. Though no threat is uttered, it’s clear that there is an underlying threat of violence.

To command such power and influence with such a non-menacing stature is an awe-inspiring talent. What’s scary is not how he looks or how he speaks, what’s scary is not knowing what he can do. We only get hints every so often at what DeGroat is capable of.

Sociopath

DeGroat is a textbook sociopath. He generally has no empathy for others and is almost indifferent to violence. He shoots people point-blank with no more than a blink. Seeing a character react to that type of violence with such calmness is unnerving.

DeGroat’s sociopathic tendencies are what allowed him to become a crime lord. In Out of the Furnace, we first meet DeGroat with his date in a car at a drive-in. After his date says something that ticks him off, she tries to choke her and then brutally assaults a man who tries to stick up for the girl. Without so much as a glance back, DeGroat drives away, leaving the girl and the man there.

The indifference is visible in Harrelson’s swagger as he exits the crime scene. There’s no emotion other than mild contempt and fleeting anger. Harrelson is able to portray this in a convincing way that tells the audience that this is a guy not to mess with.

DeGroat vs. Baze

Casey Affleck has a baby face. No matter how old he gets, he still retains that boyish look. It allows for him to play characters like Rodney Baze in Out of the Furnace — deeply troubled people that garner the audience’s sympathy. We know he’s been on several tours of Iraq in the military but it’s hard to see him as any more than a grown-up boy.

This, in juxtaposition with Harrelson’s grizzled and hardened DeGroat, is able to create a startling contrast. Compared to DeGroat, who looks like he’s been through the wringer, Rodney looks like a teenager wearing his father’s clothes. We’ve seen him fight and win, but we can’t see that when DeGroat is around because of how Harrelson overpowers the screen.

The choice to put innocence versus violence is a decision that fits with the theme of the film very well. It shows how life changes for the Baze boys; these are two boys who grew up close to one another and ended up going down very different paths. Russell Baze (Christian Bale) works for a living and provides for his dying father. Rodney Baze bets on horses and fights in rough-and-tumble bouts to support himself. Both live hard lives, but they are hard in different ways.

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