The Fighter

So I had wanted to see this movie ever since I reluctantly watched the trailer from being prompted by my movie site. The premise did not sound like something I wanted to see, however after watching the trailer, I knew it would be something different than the normal rags to riches heartwarming sports story - there was going to be actual dramatic performances in this movie. Not to mention how much I respect Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, and Amy Adams as actors. When the movie went wide, it opened up in the number 4 spot and has already earned almost $50 million domestically which about doubles it's $25 million budget. 

The plot follows the real life story of two brothers who rose to fame with their boxing careers in the early 90's. Bale plays the older brother turned trainer dealing with addiction who helps his younger brother, played by Wahlberg, rise up and ultimately get a shot at becoming the world welterweight champion. Melissa Leo plays the mother of the two brothers and Amy Adams plays Wahlberg's girlfriend. 

The plot is based off actual events and I suppose it fairly accurate, given the family was involved with the making of the movie. I really enjoyed how the plot was more about the relationships within instead of being a historical recount of events. The characters were flawed, but endearing. They were complex with different dynamic and motives throughout. 

The cinematography was nicely done. The sets and wardrobe were spot on with the 90's setting. I enjoyed how the boxing scenes were shown through the low quality broadcast video. There hasn't been many, if any, sports movies that actually had me waiting in suspense for the outcome of a game - or match in this instance. But by the final match, I found myself actually rooting for this character. 

The thing that made this movie great was definitely the performances, which is evident from the trailer. Obviously Bale submitted himself to this role and completely takes on this character. Physically and emotionally. From the moment you lay eyes on him, you understand what he's living through at this time of his life. He was able to bring a performance to the character and actually earn some sympathy instead of just playing a cliched crack addict. His was a poignant performance for his career. I thought that right up there with him was Melissa Leo. She's an Oscar nominated actress and it shows in this role. She becomes a character completely different than herself. I felt like I was watching a real life nosey Jersey mother, and forgot this was a highly distinguished actress. She also became this character. Bale and Leo were definitely at the top of their games in this one. Amy Adams was really great as well. She was believable and submitted herself for the role. They had her gain weight for this, which I don't think was necessary. She still looked and acted great. Wahlberg was a little static, but then again his character was the stable one in the movie so that sort of made sense. Other than the physical aspect of the movie, this wasn't really anything we haven't seen him do before. He's definitely easy on the eyes, but he unfortunately didn't come close to touching his coworkers in this one. 

I came out really enjoying this film, despite my apparent disdain for most inspirational sports stories. This was about the characters and their relationships - the boxing was secondary. Aronofsky dropped out of directing this film to make Back Swan, which is very interesting. This could have been a much darker movie. I'd recommend this film for anyone looking for a dramatic non-action movie that still had genuine suspense and entertainment. "I've heard a lot about you.' 'I've heard a lot about you too'. 'What's that supposed to mean?'. 'Same thing you meant' -- The Fighter.