The Fighter (2010)

One of the downsides of this blog, is that I can’t watch movies any more without creating the hook of my posts about these films. 

Halfway thought The Fighter it was going to be :- Christian Bale just Godzilla’s’ his way through this movie. This is not the blandiose Bale of recent years, this is like a return to a character that’s Patrick Bateman meets the guy from The Machinist. Just one of the great acting performances of the year, another total character-transformation (we’ve never seen him play this guy before) and a career-best for him. Also Mark Wahlberg is it.

But that was at the halfway point. First half, we love watching Bale play Dickie, this gregarious crack-addled doofus. It’s 100% charisma. The lovable crack-heads of cinema are few. Dickie, lest I drown in an encumbering cliché/quotation, ‘could have been a contender’; he’s a ‘local legend’. Dickie is what happens after you fall down and you can get back up and we can totally empathise with him because Bale plays it human and interesting. At this time, you wonder why is Wahlberg in this- it’s distracting like if you were sat next to a celebrity at your kid’s first nativity- ‘I want to concentrate on what’s going on but why-how are you here?’

Then comes the dipsy-doodle. Now the focus is on Wahlberg playing Micky because Dickie’s been sent away. As we focus closer on Micky and his struggle to deal with boxing and his life outside of it, we’re empathising with him. His is the story of coming within touching distance of glory, of potential, though I guess that’s what any sports movie is about. Mick has all the talent but he just needed a ‘break’; luck to get over the next obstacle, something we can all identify with and now I’m irritated Bateman keeps popping up, in this Mark Wahlberg movie.

But The Fighter is not just success in terms of the 2 leads; Melissa Leo might have an even more complex role in the boys mother than Bale does. She plays the domineering matriarch pitch perfect- she somehow balances playing the exploitative boxing manager of her children and caring mother at the same time.

David O’Russell also excels here. He uses the ‘lo-def tv’ cameras during the fights to good effect, in the way the reality of the boxing is unreal or playing from fuzzy memory. The tone of the film never become solemn or worthy. He uses this great device where (and it may be based on truth, this being a true story and all…) the boy’s have 7sisters that make up this great comedy Greek chorus and the father played by Jack McGee, who you’ve seen in tons of stuff makes a break out performance for himself here.

I remember when I heard about this movie coming together, 2years ago I guess. Just that it was Bale and Wahlberg in a movie called The Fighter. I guessed that it would be Bale fighting Wahlberg but I wondered how that would work- surely one would be good and one would be bad or something. Obviously you know that’s not what the story is but in acting stakes, that’s what the 3^rd act is. Round1 was Bale’s. Round 2 went to Wahlberg. Round 3?... Bale wins on points, only because he’s ACTING!

I watched The Fighter (2010) at the cinema.
My 2011 in Movies will return with My First Mister (2001)...