Review of Southpaw (2015) by Maksim B — 27 Nov 2015

As standard and clichéd as any boxing movie could be, Southpaw offers nothing new the genre in terms of a story, but totally stuns when it comes to performances and boxing sequences. Raw, soaked with blood and overall gloomy atmosphere this is another very solid delivery by the established director Antoine Fuqua.

The very entertaining and affecting power of Southpaw is hidden not in the story itself, which is quite generic, but in the terrific performance of Jake Gyllenhaal. Worthy an Oscar nomination, his transformation into a not that smart (to say at least) boxing machine who is totally devastated after his wife's is dead and who has to learn to cope with life on his own again (for the sake of getting back with his daughter), is truly remarkable. In fact, it would not be an overestimation if said that without Gyllenhaal's performance Southpaw would have been just any other disappointing boxing movie. In spite of being melodramatic at moments and offering all the clichés of the boxing film universe, Antoine Fuqua extracts the best of his leading character, supports it nicely with Forest Whitaker's commanding presence and makes it raw enough for the fans of the sport with formidable camera work in order to turn Southpaw into an enjoyable and memorable boxing drama.