The Fighter

The Fighter

The Fighter is the final fruition of a long held dream for Mark Wahlberg. For years, he had wanted to make this movie, based on the story of boxer Mickey Ward, and has been in training since 2005 just in case the greenlight ever turned on. You even could say Wahlberg has really been preparing for this movie all his life. As a kid, he looked up to Mickey Ward and was inspired by his story.

Mickey Ward (Wahlberg) is a young boxer, quiet and low-key and completely overshadowed by his trainer Dickie Eklund (Christian Bale), whose over-the-top attitude and constant bragging about how he once knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard completely dominate any room he walks into. Mickey isn't going to go anywhere as a fighter because he is managed by his mother (Melissa Leo), who keeps matching him against the wrong (and bigger) boxers, who coddles Dickie, and who is deluded to the point that she thinks her malicious self-importance is actually what is best for her children. Mickey's situation is made even worse by the fact that Dickie, despite being a brilliant trainer, is hopelessly addicted to drugs and not doing his job.

When Mickey meets Charlene (Amy Adams), who gives him some tough love and sound advice, he starts to see that his family might not be the best thing for his career. But they're his family - he loves them and hero worships Dickie. What's he supposed to do, just dump them?

In any other movie, that answer is easy. Yes. Your family is a pack of losers. Ditch them. But that's what the magic of Hollywood would do, not real life. And as directed by David O'Russell, The Fighter certainly feels real in its conflicting emotions. The movie is all the better for it.

Credit goes first and foremost to the actors. Some have complained about Wahlberg being a non-entity, uncharismatic, and completely overshadowed by Bale and Leo's over-the-top performances. To which I say, yeah, clearly that's the point. Mickey is struggling with being an non-entity, has little charisma, and is completely overshadowed by his brother and mother. What Mickey does have is resolve, iron determination and heart. And just because Wahlberg's role is the quieter, less flashy one doesn't make his performance any less effective.  I think he deserved an Oscar nomination.

And as for the Bale and Leo - neither are so over-the-top as to be annoying. They are both superb, and deserving of all the accolades they've received. Bale is especially moving as drug addicted Dickey - his portrayal of a drug addict is disturbingly accurate. I also want to throw a special kudos out to Amy Adams (Enchanted), who drops her cute-as-a-button routine to deliver a gritty and tough-as-nails performance as Charlene. I always knew she was a good actress, but I didn't realize she was this versatile.

Certainly, The Fighter follows a similar routine as many other boxing films, but that shouldn't keep you away. It's a powerful, emotional, and moving film, well-directed and superbly acted. It is easily one of the best films of the year.

MVP: Can there be any doubt? I think Bale has become so famous for his brooding grumpiness in the Batman and Terminator franchises that the general public forgot that he is actually a versatile actor. There is not a single atom of Batman in this performance. Bale absolutely disappears into Dickie Ekland, displaying an uncomfortably realistic portrayal of a drug addict. But what comes across clearly is his love for his brother. And throughout his whole story arc, no matter how bad he gets, you can't bring yourself to hate Dickie because that love rings true. It's a complex and uninhibited performance, one of the best of Bale's career.

TRIVIA: For the HBO documentary and the boxing scenes, O'Russell filmed with the same cameras HBO used during the 1990s. It's a subtle, but brilliant move, as it adds a real authenticity to the boxing matches.

OSCARS: Best Supporting Actor (Christian Bale), Best Supporting Actress (Melissa Leo)

OSCAR NOMINATIONS: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress (Amy Adams), Best Editing, Best Original Screenplay

BEST LINE: Mickey Ward, after seeing the size of his supposedly rusty opponent: "That guy did not just get off the couch. If he did, I'm gonna get a couch like that."