The Fighter - (December 17th, 2010): R
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Opening Weekend Box-Office: #4 with $12,135,468
Domestic Box-Office Gross to-date: $19,074,000
Gross Revenue: $19,074,000
Budget: $11 million
Director: David O. Russell
During the Summer Movie Season, I had mentioned that Inception represented the penultimate pet project for director Christopher Nolan; in a similar vein, during the Holiday Movie Season, The Fighter represents an absolute passion project for Mark Wahlberg. Because of his close friendship with the real “Irish” Mickey Ward and his attraction to the plot’s focus on an underdog story, Wahlberg threw himself fully into this role, training for close to four years (even receiving instruction from world champion boxer Manny Pacquiao), constructing a boxing-ring in his home to help his preparation, and even refusing to use stunt-doubles during the film’s brutal fight scenes (he almost broke his nose twice). Christian Bale’s preparation to play Mickey Ward’s half-brother Dicky Eklund was equally impressive; though both Brad Pitt and Matt Damon were initially attached to the role, Bale’s ability to physically transform himself made his transition to portray Eklund’s drug addiction relatively easy (he had once lost sixty-three pounds to play the emaciated protagonist in 2003’s The Machinist). Individually, both of these actors have an extremely dedicated fan-base, so putting them together was a natural choice for Hollywood that was successfully highlighted in Paramount’s marketing campaign for The Fighter. By positioning this newest sports drama as a future classic with an ensemble cast that has already been warmly received by critics and evokes memories of past crowd pleasers like Rocky or The Departed, it was clear that The Fighter would be an absolute success and a must-see for holiday audiences.
Based on a true story, The Fighter follows the story of young boxer “Irish” Micky Ward (Wahlberg), who is trying to launch his fighting career with the support of his family and the Lowell, Massachusettes, community. Ward is following in the footsteps of his older half-brother and sparring partner Dicky Eklund (Bale), a former welterweight who was once a local hero famous for fighting Sugar Ray Leonard, but has now declined into a crippling crack addiction. With Dicky as his trainer, Micky is managed by his well-meaning but closed-minded mother Alice (Melissa Leo); though, as his family, they claim to have his best interests in mind, Micky soon realizes that both his mother and brother are hampering his opportunities with their erratic behavior. Once Micky meets outgoing bartender and potential love-interest Charlene Fleming (Amy Adams), he starts to separate from his family by following his own path and, as a result, considerable tension begins to rise. In the end, Micky must balance his family loyalty and his own ambitions, all while helping his brother through his destructive addiction and achieving success as a professional fighter in search of a world title.
There are so many positive aspects to The Fighter that it is hard to know where to begin, but I feel that the setting of the film helped bring an extra dimension of realism to both the story and the characters. Because The Fighter was filmed on location in Lowell, Massachusettes, the audience gets a true sense of not only the protagonist’s desire to move beyond his hometown but also the strong dynamic that exists between Ward’s family and the community. Melissa Leo is entertaining as Ward’s confrontational mother and Wahlberg displays a determination and vulnerability that characterizes the best type of underdog, but the true standout performances belong to Amy Adams and Christian Bale. As Ward’s love interest Charlene, Adams steps into the grittiest role of her career, portraying a tough, sexy, and sharp-tongued young woman that is a surprising and pleasant break from her usually sweet and sensitive characters. When it comes to Bale, his performance is nothing short of mesmerizing, as everything from his mannerisms to his speech patterns are so fully dedicated to and convincing in bringing the character of Ward’s crack-addicted sibling to life that you would think he himself was going to his trailer and lighting up between takes. If Bale doesn’t win both the Golden Globe and Oscar for this performance, I will be nothing short of horrified. Besides the characters and setting, the story and dialogue of the film perfectly blend elements of humor, emotion, and action, so that the audience is able to laugh at the banter between Charlene and Micky’s family, to sympathize with Dicky as he realizes how far his addiction has gone, and to cheer as Micky steps into the ring; the transitions are seamless and constant, making the end-result thoroughly entertaining.
As I said in the “Short and Sweet” review, I really don’t have any substantial criticisms of The Fighter. If anything, the film itself does start off a bit slow, as it takes some time for the characters and setting to build momentum, but the whole experience is so entertaining that this shortcoming (which only lasts about twenty minutes) is easily forgivable. In terms of the story, some may criticize that the underdog angle is a little predictable, with Ward fighting his way to the top of the boxing circuit, but I would argue that the true focus of The Fighter is the dynamic between the two siblings. Wahlberg and Bale play very convincing brothers, and despite all the turbulence that their two characters have been through together, it is very clear that they will always care for each other. In one notable scene, after Micky has started to separate himself from the family, Dicky questions him as to whether he would be anywhere without his older brother looking after him, and after a heated argument, the two decide to vent their frustrations in a sparring match; throughout the scene, the energy and emotion between the two is just electrifying. With so few criticisms, all I can do is echo my earlier praise and tell audiences to sit back and enjoy The Fighter.
Unfortunately, even though The Fighter has been critically acclaimed, from a box office perspective, the film’s performance is nowhere near as impressive. The Fighter was initially slated for a December 10th release, but Paramount pushed the film back a week to avoid competition with The Tourist. I consider this a big misstep, since now, rather than go up against a mediocre Depp-Jolie thriller and the underperforming Narnia franchise, The Fighter was forced to contend with everything from romantic comedy (How Do You Know) to family-friendly (Yogi Bear and Tron: Legacy) and dark drama (Black Swan). While opening in fourth with just over $12 million may sound weak, in the face of so much competition, the R-rated drama’s performance is still respectable. On a brighter note, thanks to the small production budget, Paramount was already able to turn a profit after just one weekend, and with so much award buzz surrounding the film, box office receipts should only continue to increase. Of all the films that I have reviewed since I started writing this blog, The Fighter is easily one of my favorites, and I cannot emphasize enough how much audiences need to go see this gift of a movie…Merry Christmas! (I don’t care if you thought that last line was corny, I found it clever and witty)
Overall Recommendation: Very High
