Release Date: December 17, 2010
Directed By: David O. Russell
Based on a True Story
Synopsis: A small, industrial town in the heart of Massachusetts isn't known for much, except for "the pride of Lowell", Dickie Ecklund, a young and scrappy boxer famous for knocking down Sugar Ray Leonard in 1978. Now in his forties, Dickie is helping his younger brother, Mickey Ward, jump start his own boxing career, along with their mother as his manager. Dickie's crack addiction threatens to derail their training schedule yet Mickey can't imagine going forward without his brother's guidance. Mickey then meet Charlene, a young bartender, who helps him find the confidence and inner strength to go on without his overly involved family in order to go on to the biggest fight of his life. Along the way, he realizes that he needs each and every one of them in his corner in order to become one of the greatest boxers of all time.
Review: I have been really looking forward to seeing this film, mostly because I like everyone that's in it. Beyond that, I really didn't know too much about it. I was relatively surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
The acting in it was superb all around, from the main characters through the more supporting roles. Mark Wahlberg is always delicious to watch, but I feel like he hasn't been able to showcase his acting chops much besides maybe Boogie Nights and The Departed. I think he played Mickey with the perfect balance of vulnerability and intensity required for such a gritty role (not to mention he was half named for a good portion of the movie, which will always be looked highly upon by me). The movie was pitched in 2005, and wasn't filmed until 2009, meaning Wahlberg had to stay in prime shape for four years in order to be able to start shooting at the drop of a hat (Which I and probably many other woman are truly thankful for). The role of Charlene was quite the departure for Amy Adams' usual Rom-Com girls, but she really sunk her teeth into this character and pulled it off flawlessly. Charlene is a no-nonsense kind of woman, and quite obviously doesn't take crap from anyone; even Mickey's overbearing family. It's inspiring to see such a tough woman be able to be able to help boost up her man while also growing within herself. Melissa Leo was pretty hard to watch as the mother/manager, but I guess that's how you know she did such a wonderful job. She plays the quintessential stage mom, and half the time you want to reach through the screen and shake some sense into her. She turns a blind eye to Dickie's addiction, and shows blatant favoritism towards her troubled son.
I make it no secret that I think Christian Bale is a pompous windbag, but DAMN is he a good actor. He lost a bunch of weight to make the crack addiction believable, and it's safe to say I believed it from the moment he opened his mouth. His character was by far the hardest but most rewarding to watch. His mannerisms, speech patterns, and appearance were so authentic and real, I almost forgot I was merely watching a movie. At the end of the film, there is a brief clip of the real Mickey and Dickie, and it was absolutely uncanny how much Bale sounded and acted like the real Dickie. It was truly shocking to see. I can't say enough good things about his performance.
Mickey and Dickie have I think six sisters, all of them as trashy and gritty as you can imagine. Their performance as a whole was hilarious to watch; they have absolutely no filter and are the epitome of white trash. Their interactions with Charlene were always entertaining and filled with raunchy expletives.
What I appreciated about the film was that there wasn't much musical accompaniment. I know that sounds bizarre, but if there were distinct musical pieces at certain points, I truly feel it would have taken away from the story. After all, this is a sports film- we want to see action and results. That being said, the fight sequences were painful to watch because they were filmed so well. HBO filmed these scenes, since they have so much experience filming pay-per-view fights. I was watching an interview with Mark Wahlberg on Conan (whose sister played one of the sisters in the film), and he said that those shots were filmed in a matter of days, and were completely real. No contact was added in later; it was pure, unedited boxing. I respected the film (even before seeing it) on that fact alone- these actors really became their characters.
If you haven't seen The Fighter yet, go right now. Seriously. I'm dying to see it again, actually. And not just because Mark Wahlberg has his shirt off. Although that does help. :)
