I have seen many classic American boxing films, but none like the one I saw a month ago. David O. Russell's The Fighter is a true story about Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale), two brothers that were inseparable since birth. Dicky has been Micky’s boxing coach since he was a boy but as he gets older living in the poverty of south Boston began to get to him. Dicky has an addiction to drugs and his addiction brings drugs first and Micky’s career second. It isn’t until Dicky goes to jail that Micky realizes his family is only holding him back from what he is capable of. He finds a girlfriend with a much wealthier upbringing than himself, and she helps Micky pursue his career. Finally he is starting to pursue his dreams without his family constantly nagging him. The twist in the end brings this ongoing girlfriend love versus family love conflict to its peak, however I cannot give the ending away. The acting was exceptional; Christian Bale is almost unrecognizable to the point where he talks and looks exactly like the real guy.
I was born and raised half of my life in Boston, and after watching this movie, I want to keep that part of my life a secret. The producers of The Fighter make a caricature of southern Boston families and greatly degrade the people of Boston. However, the family devotion, although trashy, is something that should be respected. The Fighter is a great movie and I recommend it to an older crowd. Whether you are from Boston or not, the storyline is very strong and it is an enjoyable movie.
On my list of flicks to see, but no doubt it will be a rental.
ReplyDeleteThe only issue I have is Christian Bale. His mouth, especially when he is doing an American accent, is incredibly scary to watch. You can see his face fighting to keep his Welsh accent from bleeding into the dialect he is doing.
This is one of my favorite movies that I have seen recently. It's really interesting to see how successful the main character becomes even with most of his family trying to fight and hold him back. Christian Bale's character is the most amusing to me, especially because of his crack addiction. It's interesting to watch the story of his brother becoming a great fighter while at the same time watch him, a past star, slowly lose his life to addiction and end up in jail, finally realizing his mistakes while his brother has found his place in life.
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