Review of The Fighter (2010) by Dillinger P — 17 Sep 2014

David O. Russell combo's up with a tremendous cast to produce a standard of film making not seen in quite some time. The Fighter follows the real life brothers of Dick and Mickey Ward, the former a has been boxer, the latter an outlet for his brother and mother to try and become famous and make money.

Since becoming past it Dickie has played the balancing act of crack addict and trainer for Mick, while also trying to make money by ruining himself in a HBO documentary. Mickey eventually meets a new spark in his life Charleen who tries to set him on the right path as Dickie and his mother Alice continually try and hold him back.

Imagine Rocky but better. Christian Bale is, as always on the ball, hes methodical craft see's him lose yet again a tonne of weight and yet again portray a character so unrecodnisable to us as fans that its a joy to behold.

Mark Walhberg is the glue however. While Bale is bringing the larger than life character to fruitation, Wahlberg is our connection to the film, he perfectly hits subtle and honest notes as a human being, struggling to juggle family and career.

He deserves just as much credit as Bale. Amy Adams oh my god, yet again brings a performance worth every dime, she constantly, perfectly flits between supporting Mickey and leaving him out to dry, in a situation that makes her come across as completely human.

And Melissa Leo works wonders as the overly attached mother Alice. The script is brilliant, giving us what we want, no garbage, no small talk, it gives us pure character and development. It never feels forced and not one moment stands out like a sore thumb.

David O. Russell just knows where to put the camera as well, one scene in particular see's an intense conversation between the brothers. Instead of 5 different camera set ups, he sticks with one, panning left and right depending on who we need to get the relevant information out of.

In fact he fully realises that film is a visual medium, giving us all the detail we need but never overloading us or boring us by being overly flamboyant with the camera or technique. The soundtrack is immense, fitting perfectly into the edit, which just flows and flows, this movie does not feel as long as its running time suggests.

In fact I was almost shocked when it ended. I had completely fallen into a world where time flew by as I was so engrossed in the characters and story, the world created, the look and feel, the vintage grade on the boxing matches themselves, which at points show an agonising side to boxing.

There is even a Rocky-Esque montage, but minus the cheese factor. Much like his successor to The Fighter, American Hustle, not everyone is going to enjoy this outing. It doesn't spell things out, its very chatty in places and can be alienating to an audience who would like to see these actors in a more conventional role.

If you, like me however can get behind a solid story, told by solid acting and technical and visual ability, without being spoon fed and having your typical cliches turn up every 2 minutes, David O. Russell is a talent to keep an eye on and The Fighter is a must own!