In my brother's shadow

The two brothers are Dick (Christian Bale, Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actor) and Micky (Mark Wahlberg) from Lowell, Massachusetts. They are working class men pursuing a boxing career. For Dick, the older brother, it's over; his drug addiction has seen to the end of his boxing dreams. He deludes himself into thinking that an HBO camera crew is making a film about his big comeback while they're actually documenting his demise. Micky is younger, dedicated and clean. Unlike Dick, he still has a realistic shot at boxing glory - if he can manage to distance himself from his insular family, which includes not only Dick and his numerous sisters, but also his meddling mother (Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Melissa Leo).

"The Fighter" refers to Micky's attempt to become a renowned sports figure; to Dick's struggle with addiction and the inevitable consequences thereof; to Alice (Leo) ostensibly fighting for Micky's interests while always championing the has-been older brother. The father, George (Jack McGee), observes much of these family dynamics with a measure of restraint that is rather impressive. A resplendent Amy Adams costars as Charlene, a bar girl who hooks up with Micky and serves as a source of tension between him and his family. All in all, "The Fighter" makes for a brilliantly acted character drama. (Note: I think Leo's Oscar is more for her sensitive work as another desperate mother in "Frozen River" than for this film.)

The film is a good example of why the classical Hollywood narrative works, especially in sports dramas. When you go the formula route and you do it well, the result can be emotionally rewarding without being mind numbing. If a film is too cerebral, it can be alienating. I've written before on how "Raging Bull" didn't live up to its three-decade old hype, and Michael Mann's emotionally sterile "Ali" was a misfire, with Will Smith trying his best to channel the famous boxer in a film that couldn't bear its own weight and felt like it'd never end. And who remembers "Cinderella Man"? With "The Fighter", Russell's approach is restrained and never sentimental; he refrains from cheap musical cues and his conservative choice of camerawork and editing are appropriately far removed from the theatrics of "Three Kings" (1999). 

For a while I couldn't figure out why I responded so positively to the film. I think it comes down, for a change, to the basics: "The Fighter" is refreshingly straightforward solid entertainment and a gritty family drama. It has no pretenses about what it is. Admittedly, the film teeters oddly close to ridiculing some of its working class subjects at one stage, making the Ward sisters come across as bizarre caricatures reminiscent Maggie's redneck family in the tedious "Million Dollar Baby" (Eastwood 2004), a strange occurrence since the film's success lies in its well-rounded characters.

I've seen the film described as "uplifting" and "inspiring", and although a measure of triumph is to be expected, the film is so bleak and the characters so convincingly grounded and tangible that I cannot bring myself to reduce the film to those labels. Still, in the words of Roger Ebert, no good film is depressing, and "The Fighter" is a very, very good film, one I am certain to revisit.

Classics debunked: Bastard in the ring

It is generally understood and acknowledged that Martin Scorsese (“Taxi Driver”, “Mean Streets”, “The Aviator”, “The Departed”) is America’s greatest living director. Some critics feel a strong emotional with the director and his film, his Italian-American Catholic upbringing often featuring in his films and often resonating with his fans. In 1981, not long after “Rocky” ran up the stairs to cheesy success, Scorsese made “Raging Bull” featuring Robert de Niro in a now legendary performance as boxer Jake la Motta, a role for which De Niro eventually picked up 60 pounds. That’s not an acting achievement, it’s madness, no matter how you try to frame it as “noble” or “for the craft”.

The film, shot in black and white, isn’t easy viewing (it did make me wish that more filmmakers were brave enough to shoot in stunning b&w). La Motta is a despicable character with next to no redeeming factors. For most of the film, De Niro plays him like a bulldozer. At least there’s his second wife Vickie (Cathy Moriarty), who isn’t all that likeable herself, and Jake’s brother Joey (Joe Pesci). Here Pesci upstages De Niro for the first time; he would do so again in the 1990s gangster classic “Goodfellas”, a much more accomplished film than this one. "Raging Bull" is worth a watch but not the hype.