It doesn’t take long to think of a sports movie, usually based on a true story, with a scrappy underdog mounting a triumphant comeback to reclaim the respect of his love, his family, or himself. It is a tried and true formula with a feel good ending after some points of hardship for the main character. Since its release in December, The Fighter has received much acclaim from critics and associations declaring it to be one of the best pictures of the year. But the question I had going into this movie: does the world really need another one of these movies?
Director David O. Russell weaves the tale of Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) as his ascension in the world of professional boxing is fraught with obstacles. The greatest is Micky’s hero and older half-brother Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale), previously an accomplished fighter who now is Micky’s trainer when he is not too high off crack to remember. Micky’s family is supportive to an extent but only as his mother Alice (Melissa Leo) sees fit when she is not too busy chastising him for his life choices or chasing down Dicky. If a modicum of anything is true in this movie, it is a miracle that Ward amounted to much with the level of dysfunction in his family.
Now, there is very little story wise in this movie that will shock or surprise you. Even though it is based (probably loosely given these types of films) on true events, the sequence of events are the template that feel-good sports-based movies are made from. What differentiates The Fighter though are the little scenes and lines of dialogue that pop up in between the tragic set-back or the miraculous victory.
Unlike a standard Hollywood production, most everything in this picture feels genuine. Wahlberg aside, there are no actors here that look plucked out of a fashion catalog or ABC Family TV show. Bale, in another drastic physical transformation, is miles away from Bruce Wayne with his pale face and sunken eyes. Amy Adams as the love interest Charlene is cute but not in an artificially or distracting way. I was even convinced that Olympia Dukakis was playing Alice; Leo is buried underneath the tall hair and heavy makeup.
During The Fighter, I thought of a previous Russel film, Three Kings, as both are able to change scenes and tone on a dime between the underlying dramatic story to quirky comedic scenes such as Alice and her gaggle of daughters going to confront Charlene for turning Micky against them. One consistent thing that has been said is of the performances of damn near everyone in the film. Wahlberg has long shed his laughable boy-band image from two decades ago but he is still able to bring out serious acting chops that are surprising against his co-stars.
Bale’s performance as Dicky is a tricky proposition as it ranges from drug-induced craziness to emotional reflection on his misdeeds. He pulls it off nicely as if only to make us purge that Terminator movie from recent memory. Everyone else from Adams to Leo to Conan’s sister played their roles with earnestness that is easily lost in the glut of typical rom-coms or mindless action flicks.
While ultimately the story is primarily centered around Ward and his dogged desire to accomplish something, his character was a bit too passive as his path in life seems to be mostly shaped by the determination of anyone else around him. The picture loses a bit of punch for the duration of time that Dicky is imprisoned as he, whether as high as the clouds or sober, leads to a lot of the heavier drama as he represents the rift between Micky, his family, and Charlene. I would have liked more from Dicky but given that the real Dicky was the subject of an HBO documentary featured in the movie, it is probably more fair to focus on Ward.
It is notable though that Russell is able to create fight scenes that practically transport you in the middle of the boxing ring in between two sweaty guys. Most of the movie it seems was shot with handheld cameras that sell the realism and bring you more into the tale which would otherwise not be possible with a slick and polished film. So, to answer my question from before, yes this movie is certainly necessary, not for the been-there, done-that story, but for the rich characters and performances in it.
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