The Top Five Christian Bale Performances

For several obvious reasons, Heath Ledger's unnatural embodiment of The Joker in The Dark Knight is generating more talk than any other performance of the year. It's great work, undeniably, but there is the sadness that comes with the knowledge that it's also his last finished work, and that like James Dean before him, we feel like we've just seen what's under the surface. Lost in the discussion, though, is Christian Bale, an actor's actor of the highest caliber. He's in an interesting transition period in his career, moving gracefully from incredibly demanding roles in independent films to action heroes in two of the biggest franchises in movie history (Batman and Terminator). Because of his reputation as an actor who will do anything for a project, Bale has ingratiated himself to serious cinemaphiles around the world. But let's be honest: The majority of moviegoers have probably not even seen some of his best work, because the majority of moviegoers don't see independent films. And while it's deserved and worthwhile to reflect on the uncharted territory Heath Ledger went to in order to capture The Joker, I'd like to tip my hat to Christian Bale and count down his top five best performances. 5 - Empire of the Sun Only 13 at the time of its release, Bale was already showing signs of an uncanny maturity that you can still see today. What's remarkable about this performance is looking at it today and comparing the work of actors at that age with their careers in the future. If they even had careers in the future, that is. But what Bale does here is made even more auspicious because he was working with Steven Spielberg and he was the lead in a very dramatic epic that most 13-year-olds couldn't even comprehend, let alone add a special gravity to. 4 - Batman Begins Before you hit 2008, you could pick a superhero movie at random and the odds would dictate that the villain gives a better performance than the hero. That's because villains drive those heroes so much. In fact, Gene Hackman, Jack Nicholson, Willem Dafoe, and Ian McKellen are all Oscar nominees, yet none of the heroes in their respective superhero flicks have ever been in the select group of five. All three major superhero movies this year are different in that regard. And in terms of the new Batman villains, Liam Neeson and Heath Ledger both have nominations and Christian Bale does not. Not yet, amazingly enough. But what he provides in Batman Begins - and what is lacking somewhat in The Dark Knight - is a draining amount of depth and inner conflict as Bruce Wayne. He's not only the best actor to play the role, he's the best actor in the role, particularly in this film, where Wayne has more to do than Batman does. There's not nearly as much acting going on in the Batsuit. Still, what we see is an actor who can commit himself so much physically while not losing sight of the emotion and psychology of a tortured soul. 3 - American Psycho It's tough choosing between the top three performances, or at least, between two of the top three. I went with American Psycho here because, while we can see how unique and disturbing the character of Patrick Bateman is, not to mention how far removed he is from anything resembling reality, perhaps it's Bateman's lack of humanity that keeps this further back than the other two. I see the wheels turning, and I get that it's really a breakthrough role, but I think I value a little more the things I learned from watching him in our top two performances. 2 - Rescue Dawn In Rescue Dawn, a film that has been shamefully overlooked since its release last summer, Bale plays prisoner of war Dieter Dengler, the only man to escape a Laotian prison camp during the Vietnam War and live to tell the tale. A heartbreaking look at personal courage and the insanity and brutality of war, Bale's work is supported be unusual, fractured, and deeply moving portrayals by Steve Zahn and Jeremy Davies. As they slowly lose focus and hope, Dengler only finds more resolve. Among his many ballyhooed physical transformations, this is my favorite, because it's necessitated by the story, gradual, and unlike some of the others that completely alter the way he looks, Bale uses his weight loss like Cate Blanchett uses an accent; somehow, it's just so natural. 1 - The Machinist The story goes that Christian Bale lost something like 65 pounds in nine months eating an apple and a can of tuna fish a day in order to play the emaciated Trevor Reznik in The Machinist, a factory operator who hadn't slept in a year. Remarkably, you can't see much of Bale in this role, and not only because of the weight loss. It's a real and total transformation, easily one of the best of its kind. Brad Anderson's movie doesn't fully capitalize on it, true, but if there's an overlooked performance in the last decade that should have been at least an Oscar nominee, it's this one. To take one's self to such physical extremes for a movie raises everybody's game. If the star is willing to do this (and Bale always is), it's incumbent on everyone else to bring their best. You might also want to watch or revisit the following films: 3:10 to Yuma, The Prestige, Equilibrium, Velvet Goldmine, Shaft, and either Newsies or Swing Kids, though I wouldn't recommend both. At least not if you don't space them out a bit. You might also want to watch or revisit the following films: 3:10 to Yuma, The Prestige, Equilibrium, Velvet Goldmine, Shaft, and either Newsies or Swing Kids, though I wouldn't recommend both. At least not if you don't space them out a bit.

Comments

[eddie]

great article on the one of the most intense and committed actors of today.

honestly, prior to Batman Begins, i have not heard of Christian Bale. and because batman is my favourite comic book hero, i went to do some research on him when Begins was launched as i badly wanted to see the new Batman franchise being resurrected.

turns out he completely disappeared into the role in Begins. His portrayal of a torn Bruce Wayne morphing into a "monster" (as he puts it) which blends into the shadows was the best rendition i have ever seen.

and his other movies:
American Psycho - Powerful performance as the unstable and psychotic Patrick Bateman
Machinist - incredible weight loss, only to gain it all back for Begins
were simple fantastic.

here's to Christian Bale and Heath Ledger, and though i honestly don't know if the third batman film will be better than The Dark Knight, let's enjoy the success that Dark Knight is receiving

"It's not who i am inside, but what i do, that defines me."

[Mix]

We could simply say "from Bateman to Batman". CB is one of the best actors of his generation; once I thought he was what Tom Cruise wanted to be; now he is what CB wants to be, that's far more than that. Thumbs up, definitely!

[Michele]

Christian is the type of actor who fully immerses himself in the role he plays. I don't normally watch movies like this, but just last night I watched "Harsh Times". It's hard to watch. There are times the movie drags, and overall, the movie itself isn't all that great. But Bale's performance elevates the movie just by being in it. His character, Jim Luther Davis, is all the more heartwrenchingly sad when you think of the war going on right now. There's just something about Mr.Bale. There isn't a more intense, dedicated, talented actor out there. The man is so compelling, any time I am watching him, I can't STOP watching him. And, if other people are in the room with me watching him, no one moves, not even to take a potty break.
That's talent, people. I only hope Mr.Bale continues to make good choices, both in his films and in his performances. I think he will.
As far as an Oscar. I hope he wins one, just to stick ii to the stuffed shirts of Hollywood. And to show them what a real actor looks and acts like.

[MRPigg]

It's not so much Bale's performance in it, but Equilibrium is very underrated as a film. If you are a fan of Batman and have not seen it, it is very much worth checking out. It was poorly marketed and written off as a Matrix clone at the time, which was unfair.

[Steve Kwasnik]

Christian Bale has long been a favorite of mine. I might also recommend Bale in the film, Little Women. As Laury, the next door neighbor, Bale adds a great deal of depth to previously shallow character. His conflict at loosing one sister and gaining another is a really nice twist in the story.

[Jen]

Yes, good call Steve-- loved him as Little Women's Laurie. He was hand-picked by Winona Ryder and then later ended up marrying Ryder's assistant so I'd venture to say that was one of his most important roles as well.

Also dug him in Velvet Goldmine but thought that last year in Rescue Dawn, Prestige and 3:10 he was the industry's quite triple threat-- when in public the hat-trick was dubbed by the media to another talented 3peat, Phillip Seymour Hoffman's work in Before the Devil, The Savages (which along with Margot at the Wedding, I wouldn't watch again if you paid me), and Charlie Wilson's War.

Bale's a truly underrated star. Though man, still can't get that image of him running naked down the hall with the chainsaw out of my head from Psycho. Scary, scary stuff.

[Candida]

He was really damn good in Swing Kids, but no one ever remembers that movie.

[The_Dish]

who is batman?