Boxing movies are like the Holocaust. In the first moment, you say about it "Oh,not again!"What else can be said, which is not said before? Are not they tired of doing the same movie over and over again? In the end, we will hardly see a new "Rocky" or "Raging Bull", right? Well, for obvious reasons we will not see, but we can see something almost as valuable, sharing similarities in its general themes, but different in its specificity. "The Fighter" is the true story of boxer Mickey for his hard road to becoming a real champion and his intimate relationship with his half-brother Dickey Eklund - a once-promising young hope who has failed his chances of success by engaging in drugs - which is the basis of all Mickey's downs and ups. "The Fighter" is also a film about the incredibly complex relationships and dynamics in a non-standard but still quite ordinary family. Relationships deeply entwined and intertwined with the fate of Mickey, one of the factors that distinguish the film from other similar titles.
The main merit of making these relationships work (and hence the whole movie) is the extraordinary actors - for me here is the most powerful ensemble performance for the 2010, but that's a little later - and of course the director David O Russell. Given the film's theme, hardly anyone can be dramatically surprised and that's why much of the cargo falls on Russell. And directing is definitely one of the strongest aspects of the film. The film, but not as a guiding of the actors, but the building of the whole identity of the film. Almost documentary styling (camera movement, frame structure) creates a feeling of almost intimate proximity to the characters, allowing us to deeper into their motivation and essence, rhythm, atmosphere, sense of the spirit of the timeless mysterious Lowell, Massachusetts (if we did not know which year the action unfolded, I could not personally determine it) - all this is a consequence of the way Russell is doing the story. Here we should also note Russell's approach to boxing meetings, which seem to be the epitome of the overall idea of this almost documentary style. The battles are devoid of romanticism, they do not have a complicated choreography and create a sense of realism. This has also been achieved by the way they are shot - an HBO team that deals exclusively with the coverage of boxing shows on TV, have their cameras just as they would at a real meeting. As I have already mentioned, actors are the other trump of the film. We all know how badly you can be Mark Wahlberg, but, thank God, there is no sign of his stupid laughs. He makes a solid and credible role - it's great. But the real stars are Christian Bale, Melissa Leo and Amy Adams, who are making phenomenal performances.
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Bale achieves what little actors can boast lately - he completely disappears into the role. He stops being Christian Bale (no matter how good you think he is in Batman and Terminator, he has a lot of, let's say it honestly, his arrogant identity), and he's completely transformed into Dickey Eckland. If you've been wondering why there's always such noise around it, this movie will give you the answer. Melissa Leo, as the Mickey and Dickie's mother, acting as a manager, and directly provides her place in the pantheon of most of the movie moms. Amy Adams as Charlie, Mickey's girlfriend and the foundation on which he builds his triumph, shows a middle finger to everyone who has categorized her as a quiver that is nothing but romantic comedies. Finally we all know what's going on. Ultimately, the triumph of the ordinary, honest and hardworking man is an integral part of these stories, and it is he who makes them so popular. I must say that here, too, the final is not an exception, but for me personally, it did not have a clearing effect, like other films. Rather, he left the feeling that I had removed a huge load from his shoulders. Something like the satisfaction of doing a good job - a feeling no less pleasant and with no less emotional power and charge. Undoubtedly a film that deserves its place among the best works for the 2010 - real and sincere - and only a slight limitation on its subject will not allow it to be among the great awards.
I actually enjoyed reading this post! I love movies, but movie reviews sometimes look like people are just trying to boast with their knowledge of cinematography and basically are saying nothing about the film ) and yours felt as if you were a friend, who was asked to tell his opinion on "The Fighter", it gave me a desire to check it out.
Well, how can I not to? I love boxing movies! This love came through my first boyfriend, an ocassional boxer and then - my ex-husband, a professional one. So every second movie we watched was "Ali" or "Rocky", or "Raging Bull" or one of the recent ones "Million Dollar Baby" (which I personally didn't like although it's highly rated).
I'm with you on Christian Bale's ability to forget who he is and to turn into his character, I've noticed it long ago in "Machinist", it took a while to actually believe that the guy from the film and Batman is the same person ))))
I think I'll make a few reviews on my favourite Soviet films! People know so little about them, although they're quite atmospheric!
Thank you once again for your posts!
Haven't seen but got an insight. Thanks :)
you are welcome :)