Tags
2010's, Amy Adams, Based on a true story, Christian Bale, David O. Russell, Mark Wahlberg, Melissa Leo, Sports Drama, The Fighter
Film Title
The Fighter
Director
David O. Russell
Starring
- Mark Wahlberg as Micky Ward
- Christian Bale as Dicky Eklund
- Amy Adams as Charlene Fleming
- Melissa Leo as Alice Ward
Based on the true story of boxer Micky Ward and his unexpected comeback, The Fighter is an exceptional sports drama that benefits from the highly powered cast it has and immensely satisfying direction.
It’s the early 90’s in Lowell, Massachusetts and Micky Ward is a promising boxer with talent but not much luck. He is trained by his half-brother Dicky Eklund, who had a shot at the big time but has since fallen into drug addiction, a large group of sisters on his back and his brash mother Alice manages his career, thought it seems her main interest is the money at first. Yet while Micky has loyalty to for teaching him almost everything he knows about boxing, he has started to become wary of his brother’s drug habit and how his mother manages his career. And after another defeat that seriously knocks the wind out of his sails, he contemplates whether he should continue with boxing. Of course, his family doesn’t take too kindly to this idea. Yet Micky finds comfort in the arms of honest barmaid Charlene, who tells Micky that he will have to cut ties with his family if he ever wants to succeed as a fighter in the big time. Dicky finds himself in serious trouble and is put in prison for various crimes, which severs a lot of the relationship between him and his brother for a while. It all comes down to Micky to make this decision of whether family loyalty is as important as striving to hit the heights of greatness before it is too late and he can longer do it.
David O. Russell is on confident directorial duties and brings a variety of talent and vision to The Fighter. He uses a good helping of grit and infuses it into the material, best shown in the slight grain the film is tinted with to heighten a sense of authenticity. The crowd pleasing aspects come off amazingly and we all love to root for the underdog story, and this is one such story. Between the upheaval of family shouting matches and Micky’s attempts for success, The Fighter manages to satisfy both audiences that it is going for; the fans of boxing movies and those who like based on true life success tales. There is some great use of juxtaposition; seen when a drugged up Dicky is recounting his promising fight from years ago against Sugar Ray Leonard and then inter cut to this is the real footage of his once successful time, clearly showing just how far he has fallen since. This allows characters to shine in the film, especially Dicky, who undergoes a major transformation once incarcerated. At first, The Fighter is a little slow off the mark, before soon swinging into victory by pulling your interest into the story with the amount of energy and growing inspiration it has going through its veins. There is a healthy sprinkle of humour in the film( particularly shown in the fact that Micky can hardly get a word in edge ways because of his outrageous family) that actually works in the long run and doesn’t distract from the drama. And once the film gains footing, it plays out rather nicely and doesn’t disappoint you with its outcome. A knockout soundtrack bristles throughout The Fighter, driving a lot of the action both emotionally and aurally.
Mark Wahlberg cuts a subdued and good-natured presence, tempered with a deep feeling of dilemma of what to do. He is caught between his family and his abilities, and Wahlberg captures that excellently as the quiet heart of the inspiring story. It’s as much a physical performance as one that is emotionally internal too, a balancing act Wahlberg maintains to a high degree. Wahlberg’s quiet and subtlety are offset marvellously by the immensely convincing work of Christian Bale, who picked up a fully merited Best Supporting Actor Oscar for playing Micky’s drug-addicted brother. His very appearance, skeletal and almost spider like in movements, is so wholly convincing and integral that you can’t tear your eyes away from him. Yet while visually adept for the part, Bale also emotively brings out the shattered dreams of the pitiful Dicky, who can’t see that his days as a fighter are over because of how hooked on crack he is. There is a tragedy to the part that Bale plays to perfection and both this and his physical commitment to the role burn into the memory for a long time. Amy Adams is well cast against type as Micky’s girlfriend and supporter Charlene. The role allows Adams to showcase her versatility as a sexy and feisty lady; and the part is very different from how many have usually seen her in the past. Starring as Charlene, she imbues the part with an understanding and realistic toughness that fits it like a glove, as she encourages Micky to take a chance. She drops a million f-bombs, calls people out on their bull and has an attitude to burn; all of which Adams brings to the table with her considerable talents that cement her as one of the best actresses and my personal favourites out there. Melissa Leo, who collected a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role, is on fine form too as the mother/manager of Micky. While the part calls for her to be showy and aggressive, Leo makes it all work and unravels how Alice wants good things for her kids, she just can’t handle anyone else that she sees as getting in the way and undermining her. The role could have easily become a caricature, but with the winning Leo playing it, any such trepidation melts away as her boisterous yet realistic performances attests to.
A well-directed and entertaining sports drama, The Fighter comes out as an inspiring and eventful story with an authenticity and splendid cast ensuring a knockout delivery.
kmSalvatore said:
I saw this not o long ago, on cable of course;) and I liked it:)
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vinnieh said:
Your cable seems to show some really great movies on it, I must say.
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kmSalvatore said:
Yep, it does, we have so many channels, but we pay, boy do we pay, even just for standard.
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vinnieh said:
In the UK, we have Sky. As good as it is, it sure costs.
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kmSalvatore said:
We r looking into alternative things.. our cable and Internet are very very close to 200.00 a month., and like a said, we don’t get anything extra, very basic cable.
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vinnieh said:
That’s why I find myself using Netflix a lot.
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kmSalvatore said:
That’s in the list of next;)
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JJAzar said:
I haven’t seen this one, but I mean to. Great review, it’s pushed me to look at it sooner.
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vinnieh said:
Oh it is well worth checking out, primarily for the cast. They really go for it here.
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Rincewind said:
Actually missed out on this one but I will give it a try after this review.
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vinnieh said:
I missed it upon initial release, but managed to see it on Netflix.
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fragglerocking said:
It sounds good V~man, I want to see this.
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vinnieh said:
I think you’ll like it, especially for the cast.
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Keith said:
Man, talk about a movie rich with great performances! Everyone knocks it out of the park.
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vinnieh said:
Yeah, the cast was very well assembled. The way they complimented each other and the dynamic was excellent. From the quiet intensity of Wahlberg to the live wire Bale and sassy Adams, talk about stellar performances.
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beetleypete said:
I haven’t seen this one, but I am generally impressed by Christian Bale, (less so by Wahlberg) so will watch it for sure. Only if it’s on TV though.
Cheers mate. Pete.
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vinnieh said:
Bale is extremely impressive, both physically and emotionally. Seriously, there were times that I thought I was watching someone else, that’s how well he got into character.
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beetleypete said:
He is very much a ‘method’ actor, V. He has proved that in the past. Have you ever seen this powerful performance?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361862/
He lost a huge amount of weight to portray an emaciated man.
Worth a look.
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vinnieh said:
Yes I saw it years ago. He was frighteningly skinny, looked like he’d shatter if you touched him.
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raistlin0903 said:
Seriously cool movie, with a fantastic performance by Bale 😊
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vinnieh said:
Bale blew me away. He did everything right in a performance of mind-blowing intensity.
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keepsmealive said:
We saw this. Fantastic all around.
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vinnieh said:
Oh yes it was. I enjoyed the underdog story and the family drama of it.
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abbiosbiston said:
Amy Adams was great in this.
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vinnieh said:
I loved seeing her as sassy and tough talking. She showed her range here and has continued to display her versatility ever since. As you may have guessed, I love Amy Adams.
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