The film industry needs passion and perseverance. Right? If you want to rise to the top, it demands effort and hard work with all the acting skills for sure. You may be thinking why I am starting with a question! It is because the blog’s about Christian Bale. He is known to be the one who gives his all to the role, be it a villain or a hero.
We all know him for his versatility and physical transformation in his roles. You may remember the time when he lost nearly 60 pounds for his role as Machinist. Yes! That’s what we call dedication. Additionally, he took a start when he didn’t even hit puberty. Since then, he has been working with great actors and directors and polishing his skills more and more. No wonder why he is so amazing.
So, let’s begin with why we are here! It is to list Christian Bale’s top 10 movies of all time. Here you go.
Image Courtesy: IMDb
American Psycho (2000)
It’s a story of a wealthy banker, Patrick Bateman(Bale), with deadly fantasies. A man who thinks of other people just as a prop for entertainment. This film addresses the horror of capitalism. As the name depicts, it’s a psychological thriller and horror where man has everything but wants something more from life. Like most people, he, too, has hobbies but not the ones that can be supported. So, besides his job, he does one more thing, murder people.
Bale’s performance in the film is one of the most intricate in his career. It displays a wide range of human emotions, from joy to despair. Nevertheless, Bale successfully managed to capture Patrick’s unsure and tormented personality.
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Empire Of The Sun (1987)
The story displays the time of World War II when peace was nowhere to be found. The boy named James(Bale, 12 or 13 years old) lost everything and watched his privileged life turned upside down. When the Japanese invaded Shanghai in 1941, a pampered young boy must face hardship as he was separated from his family. He was then transferred to the prison camp, where he met a kind official who took him in his care.
Having no choice, James learns everything necessary to stand on his own, inspiring others around him to do the same. Bale was appreciated for his performance in the film; he was selected from 4000 children who auditioned for the role.
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Rescue Dawn (2006)
It’s a biography film on Dieter Dengler. It is based on a documentary of his. Dieter’s role was played by one and only Bale and didn’t disappoint the audience. The story starts with Dieter(US Naval Aviator) being shot over Laos in the Vietnam war. The story revolves around Dieter and how he survived detention. The Vietcong imprisoned him in a prison camp where he had to bear so much to live.
Once again, Bale shocked the audience by losing considerable weight. But this time, it portrays the prisoner starving in the camp. It was actually an anti-war film to provide a humanist direction.
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The Prestige (2006)
The story revolves around two magicians, Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, trying to impress their audience with their tricks. A drama from Christopher Priest’s novel about competing magicians and compromising everything, including decency. When their former partnership doesn’t go well, they are forced to compete with each other. In the process, they tried every trick in their power, from teleportation to disappearing without thinking about anything.
It gets difficult to decide who is the real protagonist as they both did well and had seemingly controversial backgrounds. However, this is considered among Christian Bale’s best performances and Christophers’ finest films.
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Batman Begins (2005)
It’s hard to argue about Bale’s performance in Batman Begins, as most people know him as the caped hero. Yes! He is phenomenal and has serious range, but this generation mostly knew him because he played Batman. When Bruce sees his parents murdered before him, he wants revenge but is stopped by someone for personal reasons. Bale successfully portrays both phases, when Bruce is immature and consumed by anger. When he was more stable and physically fit.
Interestingly, after losing weight to play in Machinist, Bale only had six months to build the muscles for this character. Guess what? He succeeded in that too!
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Vice (2018)
Vice is an American history black comedy and a political film starring Christian Bale. As a vice president, he has full control over foreign and military policies and bureaucracy. Dick Cheney (Bale) was nominated by George W. Bush to be his vice president, and he delightedly took the job. Well, of course, he would be able to have full control over many things. However, the facts are obviously exaggerated for dramatic effects, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t true.
Without a doubt, Bale was phenomenal in the movie, and surprisingly he gained around 40 pounds for the role. So now, I guess it’s his way to fully indulge him in his role.
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The Machinist (2004)
In this film, Bale was playing Trevor Reznik, an industrial worker weighing 120 lbs and having insomnia. Due to his sleeplessness, Trevor can’t decide between reality and a dream. During the film shooting, Bale said he consumed one apple, one bottle of water, coffee, and lots of smoking. Consequently, he was sleepy all the time.
Yes! Bale lost the weight to fit in the role of an insomniac. However, the movie’s twists and turns make the audience question reality too. Nevertheless, it’s a must-see if you are a fan of thrillers and love Christian in any role.
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Equilibrium (2002)
It’s a Sci-Fi action and thriller with futuristic composition. In this film set, people were enforced to take medicine to suppress any emotion for peace to be maintained. When there’s no freedom, rebellion will always rise in society. Cleric, played by Bale, is responsible for eliminating any rebels or anything that can evoke emotions, even books.
Although a low-budget film, it has a twist on Sci-Fi. Bale is exceptional in it as you will get to see the KungFu/Anime touch.
Image Courtesy: GQ
The Dark Knight (2008)
In the film, you will be confused if there are any sides or everything is just fine, as Bruce also thought. The prevalence of flawless justice and the crime is down to zero made Bruce consider retiring from the job. He thought that now it could be possible to spend his remaining life with Rachel happily. But, alas! It didn’t last long because a new villain, Joker, entered the scene and turned everything upside down.
Bale tries to depict Bruce’s pain as he is broken inside. Bale, as Batman, manages to deliver the concept that he and Bruce are completely different individuals. However, carry the same motto – not to hurt anyone.
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Ford vs. Ferrari (2019)
You will see Bale in this film as a less famous personality in history. Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and Ken Miles (Christian Bale) have various things in common that connect them. Both are car designers and passionate about speed and cars. They need to work side by side if they want to be better than Enzo Ferrari at Le Mans. The personal feud between Enzo Ferrari and Henry Ford ended up in a 24 race in Le Mans.
Their main goal is to build a faster and more efficient vehicle to win the contest. For Carroll, Ken was the perfect one to do the task as he is a professional racer and a skillful mechanic.
