Review of Southpaw (2015) by Roxanne R — 27 Oct 2015

First off I was not aware that Jake Gyllenhaal was on this film! His role is totally different from the sweet pharma sales rep in Love and other Drugs or the handsome cowboy of Brokeback Mountain. Second, this film is not like Million Dollar Baby which was vastly superior to this one.

Third, although I was moved to tears in several scenes, the visceral and raw boxing scenes, its methodology and science are shown so for boxing fans (I am not one of them) yes it is a must see. We have a married boxer (Billy Hope played by J.

Gyllenhaal) at the pinnacle of his career when tragedy strikes and he slowly unravels, hitting rock bottom. So what is there to do but a slow journey back to fame with the help of true friends. Great performance by Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams playing Maureen and Forest Whitaker playing Tick Wills.

This is a story of redemption, of forgiveness, of rags to riches to rags, of knowing the meaning of humility and starting over. I thought it was a bit long at 2 hours but I am not a boxing fan so perhaps for a sport fan it might seem short.

Eminem plays some powerful songs here. The film is gritty, and that is the type of wife a good, smart man should marry. Maureen was the family foundation, she wanted the best for her husband. Southpaw is no Rocky but it is emotional, visceral, and a great accomplishment of mainstream cinematic craft.

It has formidable stars and vivid action shots that will make you tremble. See I would never want to be the wife of a boxer, it is a risky sport with potential horrible consequences like brain damage and a myriad of other medical problems.

It is not worth the money in prizes (just my two cents). As for the film, yes I recommend it but it is not Rocky, not by a long shot nor Million Dollar Baby- the best boxing films I have seen from a woman's point of view.