Film Review: The Fighter

Mark Wahlberg has kept the story of "Irish" Micky Ward close to his heart, ushering the gritty biopic through Hollywood as his baby for years. Wahlberg should be proud of the real-life story that he's brought to the screen in its adherence to what actually occurred, a story that finds its strength from Ward's relationship with his brother and trainer, Dicky Eklund; however, while the film is centered on four absolutely electric performances, the film as a whole fails to assemble into a cohesive whole. Undermined by an unfocused tone, and sometimes taking the easy road cinematically, The Figher fails to become a boxing classic.

The world of boxing films is a steeped in history, with Raging Bull at the pinnacle, and The Fighter fails to rise above because it takes the easy shots to the finish; while something about boxing films is undeniably invigorating for me, it might be time for Hollywood to give the genre a little rest. The film starts out brilliantly, with Micky's boxing career as the backdrop for his dysfunctional family dynamic, especially zeroing in on his brother Dicky (Christian Bale), a crack-addled ex-boxer himself. However, about halfway through the film, after a startling reveal of how Dicky truly lives, the family drama fades underneath Micky's rise in the boxing world. It's an awkward shift, and a tighter control over the script could have done away with some of the boxing cliches that riddle the film's finale. There are scenes that transcend deal with Dicky's addiction, and the detrimental effects on the family and on Micky's potential as a boxer.

David O. Russell's direction (Wahlberg's personal choice after Darren Aronofsky passed on the project to direct Black Swan) is decent, though some of his choices are unimaginative; some scenes stumble around with powerful handheld camera intensity, while others are sloppy and flat. More importantly, whoever cobbled together The Figher's soundtrack should never work on a Hollywood film again. The movie is littered with 80's rock tunes; while this is true to the period, the choices are overt, distracting, and ultimately ruin a number of wonderful shots with burdensome shlock and laughable idiocy. I cannot say enough horrible things about the musical choices for this film. They're that atrocious.

Any grit missing from the technical aspects of the film is made up in leaps and bounds by the knockout performances. Mark Wahlberg is the weakest of the bunch, simply because he has the most subdued role; playing Micky as a quiet, controlled ball of energy who lashes out in the ring, Wahlberg shows the pain Micky goes through for his family. Melissa Leo, as the family's matriarch Alice, is a true fireball - fierce, enigmatic, and utterly terrifying, a woman doing what she thinks is best for her children while lost in her own world. Amy Adams shows a break in her token doe-eyed ingenue role as Charlene Fleming, Micky's loyal girlfriend; she rocks a tough-girl personal and Boston accent with raw credibility. Both of these women are locks for Supporting Actress nominations, and one could possibly see victory.

Christian Bale steals the show as the gangly, wily Dicky Eklund. Losing 30 pounds to play the role, Bale is an absolute revelation, especially after spending so much time under the gruff voice of Batman. Bale plays Dicky with such undeniable force that it is impossible to look away, and the there is a definite hole left when he is not in a scene; Bale transforms himself into someone else, and the results are incredible. The Oscar is his to lose. Allegedly Brad Pitt and Matt Damon where approached for the role before Bale, but it's hard to imagine anyone else inhabiting the role, and Wahlberg should be lucky that Bale gave his everything to the meaty role.

The best sequence of the film is a scene between all four of these actors towards the end of the film at one of Micky's practices, each artist throwing their all into the fight for a struggling family to survive. It's unfortunate that the film can't always rise to the occasion, and that the film's final moments can't match the brutally honest first half. In a tale that's truly about the bond of a family, no matter what the circumstances, I wanted the film's last note pack a punch. Regardless, this is an acting showcase through and through, and possibly one of the best ensembles of the year; for that alone, it's worth taking in the story of Micky Ward. B