The Fighter. Rated MA 15+ (strong coarse language, violence and drug use). 116 minutes. Directed by David O. Russell. Screenplay by Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson.
While it never quite reaches the dizzying heights of siblings Rocky (1976) and Raging Bull (1980), The Fighter is escorted most of the way there by an ensemble of outstanding performances, Tamasy, Johnson and Silver’s (8 Mile) ‘based-on-a-true-story’, multi-faceted script that is determined to keep it real, and Russell’s (Three Kings) rock-solid and unpretentious direction.
Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg) is a young boxer who lives in the shadow of his crack cocaine addicted older brother Dicky (Christian Bale) – whose own boxing career claim to fame was that he once knocked down Light Welterweight Champion Sugar Ray Leonard. As Dicky prepares for his comeback fight, Mickey gradually realises that the only way he can find peace and independence in his life, is to step out of the shadows and match up with the world’s best on his own terms.
While Wahlberg’s (The Lovely Bones, The Perfect Storm, Three Kings) under-stated performance serves chiefly as a dramatic anchor, it is the brilliant Bale (Batman Begins, The Machinist) and Melissa Leo (Frozen River, 21 Grams) as the boys’ mother ‘Alice’, who storm off with the acting honours.
Amy Adams (Doubt) as Mickey’s girlfriend ‘Charlene’ and Jack McGee as the long-suffering, side-lined husband and father ‘George’, both deliver fine performances – balancing out the cast of fascinating (and somewhat unexpectedly hilarious) characters who ensure that The Fighter is an engrossing, rites of passage experience.
Beautifully shot by Let the Right One In cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema and brilliantly edited by Pamela Martin (Little Miss Sunshine), this is one occasion where it is not difficult to understand how a film came to be nominated for seven of this year’s Academy Awards (including nods for Bale, Leo, Adams and Best Picture). If only there was an Oscar for Best Hairdressing.
Pictured, left to right: Mark Wahlberg, Jack McGee, Melissa Leo and Christian Bale in The Fighter.
This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.
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