The Fighter

In mid-90s Lowell, Massachusetts, down-on-his-luck boxer “Irish” Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) lives in the perpetual shadow of his older half brother/trainer, drug addled former fighter Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale). With the encouragement of his barmaid girlfriend Charlene (Amy Adams), Micky begins to seek more for himself. But will he be able to go the distance if it means breaking free of his family?


From Raging Bull to Ali to Cinderella Man, the boxing biopic has been done to death. Despite this, director David O. Russell and Wahlberg (who also produced) found some new and interesting things to say. The fact that this was nearly a very different film – Darren Aaronofsky was attached to direct and Brad Pitt would have played Eklund) – adds to the intrigue.


For starters, The Fighter shows a very unglamorous, almost pedestrian side of the boxing world. Though a classic underdog with something to prove, Micky Ward isn’t mobbed up, battling addiction, or making a political statement; he’s a quiet guy trying to regain his confidence. His style isn’t flashy, either. An opportunist in the ring, he stays on defense and takes damage until he can connect with a crippling body blow. To match this, the film doesn’t rely on slow motion, crowd reaction shots, or other standard gimmickry (though there is an obligatory training montage). As a result, everything seems more authentic. We feel bad for Micky when he is huddled against the ropes taking punch after punch, and we feel triumphant when he finally begins to battle back.


The acting in The Fighter is also top-notch. Wahlberg’s performance is understated but credible. He doesn’t play Ward as Rocky or Superman, but as an ordinary blue-collar type looking to catch a break. Bale, on the other hand, continues to show why he is capable of just about anything. His skinny, strung out, overconfident, irrepressibly boisterous Eklund seems over-the-top at first, but an appearance by the real Eklund at the end of the film shows just how well he nailed the mannerisms. That a 37-year-old Briton could convincingly play a 39-year-old Bostonian’s older sibling is a testament to his range.


It is the ladies, however, who nearly steal the film. Adams, known for playing sweet and cheerful types, demolishes typecasting as the tough, brazen, outspoken Charlene (she pulls off a decent accent, too). Not to be outdone, Melissa Leo (a mere 11 years younger than Wahlberg) makes her mark as the family’s overbearing matriarch, Alice Ward. Not since the late Nancy Marchand’s turn as Livia Soprano has a mother appeared this manipulative and domineering.


Filmed in location in Lowell, The Fighter incorporates a number of artifacts from Ward’s life. The actual gym he trained at makes an appearance, as do his actual trainer and Sugar Ray Leonard (both play themselves). The film’s tension and tough-mindedness is occasionally undercut by doses of awkward humor (a Russell specialty), but they increase the entertainment value.


The Fighter isn’t a probing character study ala The Wrestler, a portrait of self-destruction like Raging Bull, a sprawling period piece like Ali or a feel-good story like any other number of films. It begs and borrows from all of them though, and in doing so, manages to stand with the best of them.


8.25/10