The Fighter, nominated for 7 Oscars, follows the early days of Mickey Ward's career in boxing. Clearly, the strength of this movie is in the ensemble of characters that lend great depth and realism to the plot. As a result of which, The Fighter rises beyond just being about Mickey's career.
Mark Wahlberg is cast as Mickey Ward, the upcoming boxer. He trains with his elder brother for the fights that are managed by his mother. All along the movie he fights the tag of being branded as a 'stepping stone' for others. He is also troubled with the thought that his fights are not managed well and that his mother likes Dicky more than him.
Amy Adams plays the role of Charlene, Micky's girlfriend who takes on his family to assert what is best for him. She insists that Mickey separates from the family that is not looking out enough for him. Her confrontations with Alice makes up for some of the best scenes of the movie.
Melissa Leo plays the role of Alice Ward, Mickey's mother. She is the breadwinner for a family of 8 siblings and manages the fights for Mickey. She has portrayed well the role of a stressed out mother trying hard to keep the family together.
However, the best performance of the movie comes from Christian Bale. He surprises you right from the very first scene as the Dicky Eklund, a one time 'Pride of Lowell' fallen from his days of prime to being a drug addict. Christian Bale has lost a lot of weight for this role reportedly by eating very little. His character in the movie is just the opposite of what we have seen him lately. After carrying himself well in larger than life characters such as Batman, Bruce Wayne and John Connor, Bale shines exceptionally well as Dicky. Watch out for the scene in which Bale confronts Amy Adams and convince her that they are on the same side and he is trying hard to help.
This movie is slightly different from others in the genre.While, other movies are more about the protagonist coming in terms with the world and himself, this one is about several sub plots falling in place with boxing as the backdrop. The depth in the characters does the magic for this one. The director, David Russel has done extremely well in binding together interesting characters in a story; something that the audience will surely appreciate.
Verdict: Must Watch
Rating: 4/5
Mark Wahlberg is cast as Mickey Ward, the upcoming boxer. He trains with his elder brother for the fights that are managed by his mother. All along the movie he fights the tag of being branded as a 'stepping stone' for others. He is also troubled with the thought that his fights are not managed well and that his mother likes Dicky more than him.
Amy Adams plays the role of Charlene, Micky's girlfriend who takes on his family to assert what is best for him. She insists that Mickey separates from the family that is not looking out enough for him. Her confrontations with Alice makes up for some of the best scenes of the movie.
Melissa Leo plays the role of Alice Ward, Mickey's mother. She is the breadwinner for a family of 8 siblings and manages the fights for Mickey. She has portrayed well the role of a stressed out mother trying hard to keep the family together.
However, the best performance of the movie comes from Christian Bale. He surprises you right from the very first scene as the Dicky Eklund, a one time 'Pride of Lowell' fallen from his days of prime to being a drug addict. Christian Bale has lost a lot of weight for this role reportedly by eating very little. His character in the movie is just the opposite of what we have seen him lately. After carrying himself well in larger than life characters such as Batman, Bruce Wayne and John Connor, Bale shines exceptionally well as Dicky. Watch out for the scene in which Bale confronts Amy Adams and convince her that they are on the same side and he is trying hard to help.
This movie is slightly different from others in the genre.While, other movies are more about the protagonist coming in terms with the world and himself, this one is about several sub plots falling in place with boxing as the backdrop. The depth in the characters does the magic for this one. The director, David Russel has done extremely well in binding together interesting characters in a story; something that the audience will surely appreciate.
Verdict: Must Watch
Rating: 4/5
A brilliant film with some stellar performances.Let me take an extra minute to emphasize on Mr. Bale and his role,which according to me was awesome. Good review. You should also watch 'Warrior', yet another film about boxing, dealing subtly about familial relationship. The film stars Tom Hardy :)
ReplyDeleteTrue. One of the finest from Bale (thoroughly deserved the Oscar).
DeleteAnd yes, have seen warrior (many times). That'd be one of Tom Hardy's finest.. Oh wait, lets wait for The Dark Knight Rises..