A look at the early years of boxer "Irish" Micky Ward and his brother who helped train him before going pro in the mid 1980s.
"The Fighter" (2010)
Length: 115 mins
Release date: 17 December 2010 (Canada)
Genre: Biography/Drama/Sport
Director: David O. Russell
Writer(s): Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Keith Dorrington
MPAA Rating: Rated R for language throughout, drug content, some violence and sexuality.
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo
BASED ON TRUE EVENTS.
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo
BASED ON TRUE EVENTS.
*SPOILERS AHEAD! BEWARE!*
I'll start off by saying this: "The Fighter", as a whole, was a refreshing film. Mark Wahlberg's character, Micky Ward, is a different reach for him as an actor, I believe. Wahlberg almost always plays the tough guy, quirky remarks, and if not, the smart guy with all the answers. In "The Fighter", Wahlberg is quiet, withdrawn almost.
His older brother, Dickie Eklund, had once fought Sugar Ray Leonard back in 1978, and lost to Ray...ever since that fight, he always brags and boasts to everyone about how he fought Sugar Ray, and that Sugar Ray had said that he was "the trickiest opponent he had ever faced in a match". Ever since the Sugar Ray fight, Dickie got hard into drugs and crime. Micky, however, meant to make a name for himself in the boxing ring, despite his trainer (Dickie) being absent or disoriented most of the time.
Micky's family is depicted in the film as a bunch of manipulative, white trash....well, losers, really - the mother especially. They're always telling Micky what to do, when to fight, who to fight, etc. It becomes obvious throughout the film that Micky does not want to be controlled, but yet still allows his kin to manipulate his comings and goings, mostly out of a twisted sense of familial loyalty. No matter how badly his family messes with his affairs, both business and personal, he doesn't ditch them completely or cast them out. Family is a strong theme in this flick.
Christian Bale's character is (at least, to me) intensely reminiscent of his character Trevor Reznik in "The Machinist" (2004), in which he shed 62 lbs to prepare for the role of severely-gaunt machinist Reznik. Bale must be impervious to fatigue and malnutrition, as it seems his character in "The Fighter" differs very little physically-speaking. His half-cocked crazy smile, drug-riddled stories about past boxing feats, and several bouts of speedy descent from 2nd-story windows in attempts to flee from his mother make Bale's character the number one reason to watch this movie. He plays a crackhead extremely well.
Being that this film is based on true events and whatnot, its not logical to expect any severely climactic points in the film, let alone a firework ending; however, the portrayal of perseverance on behalf of "Irish" Micky Ward combined with Bale's self-destructive, narcissistic behavior as Dickie Eklund, makes "The Fighter" a film worth viewing.
His older brother, Dickie Eklund, had once fought Sugar Ray Leonard back in 1978, and lost to Ray...ever since that fight, he always brags and boasts to everyone about how he fought Sugar Ray, and that Sugar Ray had said that he was "the trickiest opponent he had ever faced in a match". Ever since the Sugar Ray fight, Dickie got hard into drugs and crime. Micky, however, meant to make a name for himself in the boxing ring, despite his trainer (Dickie) being absent or disoriented most of the time.
Micky's family is depicted in the film as a bunch of manipulative, white trash....well, losers, really - the mother especially. They're always telling Micky what to do, when to fight, who to fight, etc. It becomes obvious throughout the film that Micky does not want to be controlled, but yet still allows his kin to manipulate his comings and goings, mostly out of a twisted sense of familial loyalty. No matter how badly his family messes with his affairs, both business and personal, he doesn't ditch them completely or cast them out. Family is a strong theme in this flick.
Christian Bale's character is (at least, to me) intensely reminiscent of his character Trevor Reznik in "The Machinist" (2004), in which he shed 62 lbs to prepare for the role of severely-gaunt machinist Reznik. Bale must be impervious to fatigue and malnutrition, as it seems his character in "The Fighter" differs very little physically-speaking. His half-cocked crazy smile, drug-riddled stories about past boxing feats, and several bouts of speedy descent from 2nd-story windows in attempts to flee from his mother make Bale's character the number one reason to watch this movie. He plays a crackhead extremely well.
Being that this film is based on true events and whatnot, its not logical to expect any severely climactic points in the film, let alone a firework ending; however, the portrayal of perseverance on behalf of "Irish" Micky Ward combined with Bale's self-destructive, narcissistic behavior as Dickie Eklund, makes "The Fighter" a film worth viewing.
My rating:
No comments:
Post a Comment