It seems like every year there is at least one sporting movie which makes the critics salivate and the awards organisers excited; it's been Wrestling and American Football the past two years and now has returned to boxing as the sporting movie event of the year.
'The Fighter' walked away with two acting awards on Oscar night, Christian Bale and Melissa Leo both collecting awards in the supporting categories for their stellar performances as Micky Ward's brother and mother. I have to admit, both performances are stellar, in fact the entire cast is faultless in their performances, but I can't help feeling that the academy are missing a trick by failing to recognise Mark Wahlberg's leading performance as the actual stand out from the movie. Everything in 'The Fighter' revolves around Micky, all the characters are there as they heighten and enhance the man's story, and Wahlberg's underplayed vision of the character is genius making Micky nothing less than compelling to watch and he totally pulls along the entire movie. It wouldn't work without him and so to see his supporting cast nominated and him not recognised is a sin.
The movie itself is a very strong character piece, part biography- part drama which tells the story of the most important part of Micky's career at a decent pace, happy to skip past parts that aren't entertaining for the audience yet still feeling like it has a flow and rhythm. That being said, there still are parts which feel a little un-necessary and therefore dull but on the whole every scene has been chosen because it adds to the understanding of the characters and the development of the storyline.
'The Fighter' won't be for everyone though, it's subject matter is very much oriented towards Micky's relationships to people from a boxing perspective, and so often is quite dark, gritty and gruelling; very rarely does the movie swing towards a lighter theme and as a result can be quite tiring to watch. However it's clear to see that it has been made by a director with a passion and a clear vision for the story he is telling, every scene beautifully shot in it's own weird little way and David O. Russell has been wise to give each one of his actors free reins to push their characterisations as far as necessary to try to draw in a wider audience; as a reslt the film also becomes a love story between Micky and Amy Adams' Charlene that you are always backing despite some of the less strong plotlines which are there to add bumps to the relationship.
To me, the Fighter is a movie you must watch as an example of a cast that is so good that it pushes and elevates a film to a triumph beyond what I expected; I am not a boxing fan or a boxing movie fan at all but The Fighter won me over and so is a great example of using characters to find a way to get you interested regardless.
So perhaps it actually does deserve all the success that it has got, it's cleverly written, filmed and brilliantly acted...
...I still shake my head that Wahlberg was overlooked though. When you watch it, you'll see what I mean!
8/10
Adam
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