The Fighter

It is hard not to view The Fighter in terms of awards’ bait, as it is largely a strong actor’s piece, telling an uplifting true story about a man’s attempts to overcome trials and tribulations and become a champion; these clichés have certainly helped the film receive Oscar nominations in all major categories save Best Actor. Yet can a film that so obviously playing upon sports drama and awards' cliché ever overcome these problems and be, like the real Mickey Ward, truly great?

The City of Lowell is one of the first characters introduced into the film, its long run-down streets and sense of community forming perfectly the backdrop to the central story. Indeed, director David O Russell’s (Three Kings) greatest accomplishment in the film is creating a living, breathing and thoroughly believable working class community, a type normally ignored in mainstream cinema. That said, it would be nothing without its extraordinary cast of characters, with Mark Wahlberg providing perhaps his best performance since Boogie Nights with an incredibly understated turn as the titular fighter Mickey Ward, conveying in a clear, calm and collected fashion inner thoughts and feelings with seemingly minimum effort. Opposite him is his older brother Dicky Eklund played perfectly by Christian Bale who completely inhabits the self-destructive persona in a manner that is horrifying and captivating in equal measure. Together the brothers' characters, although portrayed very differently, counteract and bounce off each other brilliantly, creating a real sense of tension and drama. The same is also true of Amy Adams and Melissa Leo, whose fiery characters likewise work best confronting each other and in their opposition, providing a very dynamic dramatic spark. Yet that should not disguise the fact that every other figure in Lowell adds a sense of community to the telling of the tale.

From directorial standpoint, the film is also rather impressive, blending a mixture of grainy fake television footage and normal camerawork to differentiate it successfully from other biopics and remind us of its time and place. It also boasts an excellent use of music and extremely well-choreographed fight scenes. Yet The Fighter’s greatest achievement is that despite being full of clichés it does not feel like this is the case. It is only towards the end, after many of the film’s central issues have been resolved and we get down to the final fight that it begins to lose this edge, and stops feeling quite as fresh and exciting, which is mainly caused by the fact the characters are not sparring with each other any more.

Contrary to earlier fears, this doesn’t feel simply like clichéd Oscar fodder, instead providing fascinating character studies of two loving but conflicted brothers, crafted extremely well by a brilliant cast and a talented director. The Fighter is film that, despite never transcending its genre and offering little in terms of originality, is still a very fine piece of work.

See The Fighter at York’s City Screen. Check out their website for times and further details.

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