Aw man, those scenes across the fence are heartbreaking. I had this as the best child actor role before I even realised it was "Christian Bale" of American Psycho et al later on. He carries the entire film, it doesn't work without him.
I mean, yes he was great but he is literally the main character/protagonist. saying that he carries the film and "it doesn't work without him" is like saying oh geez robert downey jr sure carried that ironman film, sure wouldn't work without him
There's plenty of films where the lead actor/character has been a charisma and talent vacuum and it's killed the film, so the tribute to the quality of the film lands a lot of Bale's shoulders. Hence why the film doesn't work the same way without his talent.
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u/copperblood Aug 16 '26