Film: The Fighter (2010, Closest to the Hole Productions, Mandeville Films)
Director: David O. Russell
Writer(s): Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy
Cinematography: Hoyt Van Hoytema
Editor: Pamela Martin
Score: Michael Brook
Producer(s): Darren Aronofsky, Mark Wahlberg
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo
The Fighter trailer.
(Contains some minor spoilers)
David O. Russell and Mark Wahlberg team up once again to tell the familiar yet thoroughly entertaining true tale of a scrappy boxer who defeats the odds and a difficult family situation to come out on top. The film regards the early career of "Irish" Micky Ward, a boxer from the rough neighbourhoods of Lowell Massachusetts. In the film Micky is regarded by many in the boxing world as a "stepping stone"; the kind of fighter you pit your fighter against to beat and get ahead. Micky's career sits squarely in the shadow of his brother Dicky's. Dicky's success in previous years has waned however and he has since become hopelessly enmeshed in the lifestyle and habits of a crack addict. The film opens with a camera crew filming Dicky and Micky wandering around their impoverished local area where they are both seen as local heroes. Dicky naively thinks the camera crew is following him as he gets ready for his "comeback"; the sad truth is it is a documentary about crack addicts in America.
What follows is less a film about boxing and more a film about family. O. Russell takes the recognisable framework of an against the odds boxing fable and uses it to explore themes of family, loyalty and human frailty.
Micky is surrounded by family members who believe they know what's best for him and best for his career; from his overbearing mother to his gaggle of screeching chain smoking sisters to Dicky who is supposedly his trainer despite disappearing constantly to get high. Part of Micky's salvation comes in the form of a local barmaid, the no nonsense Charlene. She encourages Micky to stand up for himself against the onslaught of the other female influences in his life and his obvious admiration and love for Dicky. The romance between them is realistic and well drawn and Adams puts in a wonderfully gutsy performance.
The boxing aspect of the film we have seen before and it's not to difficult to figure out where it's going in that respect. The interesting thing about this film is that despite feeling familiar and despite treading tropes of the boxing genre seen in many other boxing films it manages to elevate itself above them with a clutch of brilliant performances and the gritty backdrop of crack addiction and family dysfunction.
In Summary -
The pros -
Several standout performances: an astonishing turn from Bale who nails Dicky's every twitch and broken smile in what has already earned him a much deserved win at the Golden Globes and an oscar nomination. Wahlberg's more subtle performance could be easily overlooked but as the soft spoken Micky he is the films beating heart. Another stunning performance is Melissa Leo as the matriarch who rules with an iron fist but resides perpetually on the edge between fierce strength and enormous sadness, especially at Dicky's drug ridden plight. As mentioned previously Amy Adams is convincing and gutsy as Micky's love interest and all of the supporting actors do great work here.
The direction from O. Russell is technically proficient with the right amount of grit and he shoots the fight scenes with fervour but it is his hand with the actors which really shines through and his evocation of the location of Lowell which, even though the film is set around the mid 90's, could have been shot there today; possibly a comment on the state of blue collar working towns in the current climate.
The cons -
An overly familiar story arc; you've seen this kind of film before but that doesn't detract from it's entertainment value.
Rating - 4/5
