<P> Out of the Furnace is a 2013 American thriller film, directed by Scott Cooper, from a screenplay written by Cooper and Brad Ingelsby . Produced by Ridley Scott and Leonardo DiCaprio, the film stars Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Zoe Saldana, Forest Whitaker, Willem Dafoe, and Sam Shepard . </P> <P> The film is about a Pennsylvania steel mill worker Russell Baze (Bale) and his Iraq war veteran brother Rodney (Affleck), who cannot adjust to civilian life . While Rodney makes some money doing bareknuckle fights for bar owner and small - time criminal John Petty (Dafoe), who runs illegal gambling operations, Rodney becomes so indebted due to his own gambling losses that he begs Petty to let him do a big money fight . After Petty reluctantly arranges for Rodney to do a fight for a ruthless criminal gang in the backwoods, Rodney disappears, and his brother tries to find out what has happened to him . The film received a limited release in Los Angeles and New York City on December 4, 2013, followed by a wide theatrical release on December 6 . The film earned $15.7 million against its $22 million budget and it received mixed reviews . </P> <P> After getting off work at a North Braddock, Pennsylvania, steel mill, Russell Baze catches his brother Rodney at a horse racing simulcast, where Rodney had just bet on a losing horse . Rodney reveals John Petty loaned the money to him . Petty owns a bar and runs several illegal games . Russell visits Petty, pays off some of Rodney's debt, and promises to pay Petty the rest with his next paycheck if Rodney has not yet paid it off . Driving home intoxicated, Russell hits another car, killing its occupants, including a little boy . He is incarcerated for vehicular manslaughter . While in prison he is informed that his ailing father has died and his girlfriend Lena has left him for the small town police chief, Wesley Barnes . Upon his release from prison, Russell returns home and resumes his job at the mill . </P> <P> The same day, Rodney participates in an illegal bare - knuckle prizefight . Rodney was supposed to take a "dive" for Petty as a way to repay some of the gambling debt he owes Petty, but during the fight, Rodney becomes enraged against his opponent and wins the fight . The next morning, Russell finds Rodney's bloodied knuckle tapes in the trash and confronts him about it . Russell wants him to work in the mill, but Rodney, a four - tour Iraq war veteran, is too mentally scarred to take a regular job . </P>

Where does the movie out of the furnace take place