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Monday, January 17, 2011

The Fighter Review

The Fighter is a movie that almost never was. Like the struggling boxer he plays in his passion project, producer/protagonist Mark Wahlberg had been waiting in limbo a long time for the shot to make his dream a reality. He worked his way through countless directors and costars, while at the same time working away at the punching bag. His goal was to turn himself into a boxer who could win the world title, not just another actor playing a boxer. With the Fighter, finally taken up by director David O. Russel, I don’t know if Wahlberg will be winning any world title, but he’ll damn well be winning something.


"I told you not to call me Marky Mark!"


The film is a biographical drama of the boxer “Irish” Mickey Ward that portrays his return to boxing after a long hiatus. An aging boxer living in small-town Lowell Massachusetts, Mickey’s got only one more shot at his dream bout, but still recovering from a severe hand injury, it’s going be a tough road to the top. Not helping matters is the mismanagement of his career by his mother Alice (Melissa Leo) and coke-head brother Dickie (Christian Bale). Then there’s Mickey’s new girlfriend Charlene Flemings (Amy Adams) who disapproves of the family’s treatment of her boyfriend and his career. Throw her into the mix, and you’ve got a bigger fight outside of the ring than in it.

The Fighter is just as much a story about Mickey’s devotion to his dysfunctional family as it is about his devotion to boxing. With chipped paint and crack cocaine, the film paints a hauntingly gorgeous picture of a loving yet deeply troubled family. His mother, Alice, played to perfection by Leo with a whole lotta sass and a just a hint of sorrow, wants nothing but the best for her son, but is wildly unqualified to decide what’s best for him. Complete with baggy eyes, big hair, and cigarette after cigarette, Alice is a riot every time she graces the screen with her squawky, unabashed charm-- especially when she’s clucking away with his countless sisters in their tiny and smoky living room.

Adams also showcases a fantastic performance as Charlene, injecting the sexy, crawl-on-the-hood-of-your-car bar chick character with her own classic brand of tender sweetness. She’s the perfect fighter’s girlfriend: tough and able to push her man when he needs pushing, yet caring and able to tend to his wounds when he’s hurt. When Mickey brings her home to meet the other headstrong ladies in his life, the result is priceless. Can you say cat fight?

That top was see-through in the actual movie. Just sayin'.

While all the supporting actors escape into their roles, none sink quite as deeply as Bale does into the life of Mickey’s brother Dickie, a former boxer who’s since turned to a life of drugs and petty crime. Bale is almost unrecognizable-- I know the teeth aren’t real and I’m still deciding on the bald spot, but there’s no denying that Bale lost a substantial amount of weight for the part. A long ways away from the glory of his past yet still carrying himself with the swagger of a fighter taking his place in the center of the ring, Bale has a way of making us laugh while simultaneously breaking our hearts. There’s no greater testament to how truly remarkable his performance is then the closing footage of the real-life Dickie. Every single mannerism, from the raspy and confident tone of voice to the fidgety pacing in place, is breathtakingly identical. Goosebumps.

In the middle of all this is Mickey, struggling to do what’s best for his career while at the same time looking out for his family. Wahlberg’s played the role of underdog athlete before (see 2006’s Invincible), but he’s really in his element as a boxer. He does a superb job of being the glue that holds this story together. I wouldn’t say Bale steals the spotlight from him either. It’s still Mickey’s journey that we follow, and his triumph we cross our fingers for.

Mickey’s relationship with his brother is the heart and soul of the story. Dickie always manages to get into trouble, and always manages to drag Mickey down with him. At the same time, Mickey needs his older brother’s touch as a trainer. Dickie needs Mickey too though. Attempting to relive his days in the ring, he longs to make up for the life he squandered through his little bro, who still has a shot at achieving what he never could. It’s a toxic brotherhood, but even with the exchanging of blows, the profound love and understanding the duo has for one another is never in question.

Brotherly Love: Mickey needs Dickie, Dickie needs Mickey. Say that five times fast.

Don’t go into the film expecting a total soap opera, however (we are talking about a movie called The Fighter). The ring scenes are the most visceral in any boxing movie since Raging Bull. Actual HBO Boxing cameramen filmed the fighting, filtering the footage with a mid-80’s TV grain. The result is a seamless blend of in-your-face brutality and pay-per-view authenticity that had me itching in my seat to throw punches at the air in front of me.

Coming from the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, a town sharing striking similarities to where Mickey comes from, there’s a special place in Wahlberg’s heart for this movie. His passion bleeds from the film he was meant to produce and the role he was meant to act. There’s a reason every single audience member left the theatre with a burning desire to jump rope and shallow box, Wahlberg has given us a masterpiece.

***

The Bottom Line

5/5 Sweaty Boxing Gloves

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