Dvd review: The fighter

The true story of boxer Micky Ward.

I used to loathe Mark Wahlberg, I really couldn’t see what his director saw in him, he was the blandest white male American actor possible, he was incredibly boring. Then I saw him in a comic role, in “The other guys”, and I saw good comic timing, nice pacing and a willingness to go where many other actors didn’t dare.

Then I saw this movie where he gave a beautiful understated performance that is also noteworthy for what it says about him as a person and as an artist with integrity. See, to put it bluntly, Micky Ward family was full of lunatics and so the most interesting roles, the role that give people Oscars, were those of his familiars. Now, abusing his lead actor status, he could have obtained a pumping up of his role with more saucy one liners and dramatic stuff, instead he left things as they are and therefore the Oscars went into his costars directions. I can say that he obtained my respect but I think that he probably preferred a golden statue for the fireplace.

This movie is really a labor of love for Wahlberg, he comes from a background similar to the titular fighter and he kept the movie afloat trough development hell using every ounce of his star power. He actually kept preparing for his role during this long period, four years, by keeping himself in the physical shape required to realistically portrait a boxer.

For all the flash that runs into the movie it’s his performance that keep it all together, he is like the straight man in a buddy comedy, the pillar that make all the other performances possible.

Christian Bale portraits Micky’s half-brother, Dicky Eglund, in another terrific performance. It’s astonishing how somebody dared to say that his prodigious weight losing is just a publicity stunt. Him losing weight is like Wahlberg gaining muscles, just another tool, albeit a very hard one, in the actor toolbox to make the performance more realistic. Dicky Eglund was a crack addict at the time and so he had to lose weight if he wanted to look the part.

Bale was pulled into the movie by Wahlberg himself, their daughters go to the same school, and apart from the weight loss he really managed a mimetic performance. He spent some time with the real Dicky Eglund and he really sounds the same, It’s astonishing and a really well deserved Oscar for supporting actor.

Melissa Leo won also the supporting actress for her portrayal of their mother. Her is a performance that it’s not easy to like, we all know too many parents who are a little bit like her, but her interaction with the rest of the cast is sparkling.

Amy Adams got another deserved nomination for best supporting actress, apparently she wants to flee that “Amy Adams” character that she’s been doing lately. She certainly got the acting chops for that and in this movie managed to move from her stereotypical image while remaining true to herself (which is something that not many actress managed to do, too many resorted to the old “lot of steaming sex” in a bid to be taken seriously).

The movie itself is very good and original. It takes a while to get into it with is large and peculiar cast but give it five minutes and you’ll be captured. The fight scenes are good and realistic, they still owe a lot to Rocky but this is not such a bad thing. The themes are interesting and nailed correctly without being to overt. Micky wants to live his life without too much interference from his family, he wants to succeed beyond his little town but at the same time he wants’ his family near him and he wants to remain in the place that he loves.

This movie deserves every accolade that it gained.