David O'ConnellThe Fighter
January 19th 2011 05:17
Director David O. Russell is not a man to rush into making a film. Long deliberations have separated his previous two projects, the caustic Three Kings (1999) and that hardly unexpected flop with the very eccentric, I Heart Huckabees (2004), a genuine dog's breakfast and one of the more spectacular misfires of the last decade.
Now comes sporting biography, The Fighter, and as with his past two films, Russell utilises the talents of Mark Wahlberg, this time in the lead role of Micky Ward, a battling pugilist from Lowell, Massachusetts who has long lived in the shadow of his older half-brother Dickie Eklund (Christian Bale). A one time contender who infamously went the distance with Sugar Ray Leonard, Dickie is still revered in the local community despite the fact that he’s now a pathetic crackhead - a fact that everyone, including his family, seems to conveniently gloss over in their dealings with him.
Straight up I’ll say that boxing tales are more often than not a source of boredom for me. I have scant respect for the sport's participants which makes it a little hard to generate much enthusiasm for their overblown life stories that generally follow an all too familiar template. Later Rocky movies, Cinderella Man (2005), The Hurricane (1999) - all underwhelming examples, especially, in the latter two cases, when creatively straining the truth through rose-tinted glasses. Perhaps only Raging Bull (1980) and Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962) remain bountiful, multi-layered depictions, raising the sport and its simple but tortured participants to high art. The fundamental story here is a generic one, aspiring to far less lofty goals than any of the examples above and never surprising in any way.
Likewise The Fighter is fairly uninspiring in actually portraying the sport on screen; the fights lack the feel of authenticity and Ward’s most crucial bouts in the latter stages come across as absurd in the way the tables are eventually turned. Did they really happen this way? Maybe, but I didn’t really buy it, though you could argue it doesn't harm the film to any great extent.
The only reason The Fighter rises to any great heights is because all its performances well and truly hit the right marks. Bale is extraordinary, commanding the screen in every scene, despite his character's delusional obnoxiousness that has Dickie living off fumes of the past as a documentary crew follows him around. Bale's emaciated form, ducking and weaving like a man trapped in waking fever dreams of a past in the ring, is a painfully real example of method acting taken to disturbing extremes. Astonishingly, this is the third time the actor has jeopardised his health - after The Machinist (2004) and Rescue Dawn (2006) - in order to submerge himself in a role.
Amy Adams is almost as good as Micky's barmaid girlfriend Charlene who drives a wedge between the family, summoning some flinty edges that, in a welcoming turnaround, contradict the mousy, sweet, girl-next-door persona she’s so successfully crafted to date.
Melissa Leo, who like much of the cast sports an annoyingly authentic local drawl, is on a par as Mickey and Dickie’s overbearing mother. This woman's sadly misplaced conception of familial protection ultimately works to the detriment of Micky who has forever been swallowed up by his brother’s lengthy shadow. Wahlberg is admittedly strong in the lead, playing a role he has apparently longed to make his own for years, but he’s comprehensively overshadowed by his support crew.
The Fighter (2010) is a slightly better than middle-of-the-road movie delivered with absorbing conviction by its classy performers, but will it linger in the mind a year from now? Not a chance.
The Fighter opens in Australian cinemas on Thursday, January 20.
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Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
The other movie that has now piqued my interest because I now know the director, is The Green Hornet ...
Comment by Matt Shea
Comment by David O'Connell
20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic
I actually missed the Green Hornet screening the other night, not because of Gondry but because of Seth Rogen who I'm not fond of (esp. after witnessing Observe and Report which I hated with a passion).
Matt, there's a parellel with Crazy Heart here i think in that it's another 3 star type of film elevated by brilliant acting alone. I think most people will be thoroughly entertained by it but it's forgettable and utterly predictable. Bale is worth the price of admission alone.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Matt Shea
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
I'm pretty much with you on this one David, I left with positive impressions, initially, after seeing the Fighter, but realized how mediocre it was when I was not bothered at all to wirte a review.
The only saving grace for the film is Christian Bale's extraordinary performance - you can just tell that he did something terrible in those crack dens to find his character.
Wahlberg was appealing and that was about it, so was the girl, but I can only recommend it for Bale's exceptional performance.
As for Russel's other film. Always loved Three Kings, never liked anything he did afterwards. Wanted to go back and check out his earlier work and had my spirits dampened after seeing the faulty 'Flirting With Disaster'.
Comment by David O'Connell
20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic
I don't think I've ever seen any of the earlier Russell films you guys mention. It's about time I tracked some of them down.