|
The Fighter
| Released |
4 February 2011 |
| Director |
David O. Russell |
Starring
|
Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo |
Writer(s)
|
Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson |
Producer(s)
|
Dorothy Aufiero, David Hoberman, Ryan Kavanagh, Todd Lieberman, Paul Tamasy, Mark Wahlberg |
| Origin |
United States |
| Running Time |
120 minutes |
| Genre |
Drama, biography |
| Rating |
15A |
|
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Knock Out!
I don’t envy Christian Bale’s publicist. He may be on top of his game but he’s a bit of a handful. Even his Golden Globe win has been more talked about for his bizarre acceptance speech and hirsute appearance than the performance that prompted it. Still, if the man is insufferable off screen, he at least makes up for it with consistently impressive and utterly committed performances. The Fighter is no exception and the Golden Globe was well-deserved.
The film follows the journey of Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg), a small-time fighter who shocked the boxing establishment in the 1980s by rising through the ranks to become welterweight champion. Like Raging Bull before it though, this is more a story of family, sibling rivalry and the tragedy of wasted potential. Though Wahlberg plays the titular fighter with a quiet competence, he has the film stolen away from him by Bale’s performance. Bale plays elder brother Dicky, a once moderately successful fighter who has descended into criminality and drug addiction. While he trains his younger brother, he lives as a local celebrity/laughing stock as the man who once knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard. As has become his trademark, Bale’s physical transformation is astounding- from the hollow cheeks of the crack addict right down to the way Dicky moved and fought, his limbs simultaneously loose and tense as a coiled spring. Running a close second is the other Globe winning performance by Melissa Leo as Alice, the boys’ brassy mother and manager. She too is almost unrecognisable here as a woman who has lost sight of her son’s interest in her quest for success. The pair dominate the film and Wahlberg, along with love interest Amy Adams get a little lost in their shadows- not that the film is any the worse for it.
Marshalling these performances admirably is David O. Russell, who brings great vitality to the story. The fight scenes are filmed as remakes of the original '80s television coverage; an intelligent move that gives The Fighter a crucial point of difference. There’s no way to top Scorcese’s operatic vision of the sport and Russell’s tactic works extremely well, adding a documentary feel and genuine tension to the matches.
The Fighter is a definite contender to pick up some Oscars; Bale and Leo are both riveting and even for the pugilism-averse, this is a compelling and exciting watch.
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Linda O’Brien |
