We were going to see either True Grit or The Fighter tonight as Date Night, but since The Fighter won several Oscars last night, and tonight's the last night it's showing here on post while True Grit has another weekend or two, we opted for The Fighter. True Grit will have to wait til next week's review :)
Plot: Based on a real story. Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund are a boxer and his trainer, half-brothers from Lowell, MA. The story follows Ward's rise to a world title, amidst family drama and his brother's struggles with drug addiction.
I loved it.
If you think it's "just a boxing movie," you're missing out. It's family drama, it's rising above circumstances, it's overcoming bad choices and moving on. And yes, there is boxing too. But the titular Fighter isn't just Micky; it can be applied to most of the characters in the movie. To sound sappy, it's a movie about the 'keep on fighting' attitude, overcoming internal and external struggles.
The acting is absolutely awesome. I wanted to see it due to the cast - I really like Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, and Amy Adams is solidly one of my favorite actresses my age-ish. And that was before Oscar season. As it turned out, 3 of the 4 leads earned Oscar nominations (Christian Bale as Dicky, Melissa Leo as their mother Alice, and Amy Adams as Micky's girlfriend Charlene - the women in the same category). Bale and Leo both won, in case you hadn't heard.
I really can't say enough about the cast. I like Mark Ruffalo and Geoffrey Rush (two of the other Supporting Actor nominees) but Christian Bale was outstanding. His character went the gamut - crack addict, coming clean, rebuilding what he'd broken. And in seeing the interviews with the actual brothers (they run during the credits), Bale nailed a lot of Dicky's mannerisms. Another role Bale changed his weight for too. I haven't read that he lost as much weight as for The Machinist, but he definitely lost some. Beyond acting, on a purely physical note, he really pulled off the gaunt crack addict look - he just has the cheek bones for it. He loses some weight and BAM! there they are. Just makes his face look so much leaner. And I really liked the interviews at the opening and ending of the movie. Apparently those were improvised by the actors while in character. Just hearing how Dicky's voice cracked at the end was so perfect.
Melissa Leo, too, as the mother was great. I think my favorite scene with her was where she picked up Dicky from the crack house. You can see her just crumbling, her chin and mouth just barely shaking as she's trying to keep from sobbing outright.
Another thing I really liked about the movie was the soundtrack. Some of the songs were internal (I don't know if that's the right term - like when the stereo in the car or the room is playing them?) and some were overlaid. It was a really good selection of songs, and a lot of them lyrically-appropriate, which is always fun. 'Course, I like Rolling Stones and Dropkick Murphys and Led Zepplin and the Chili Peppers, so it really was a soundtrack after my own tastes as well.
I know that I haven't seen The King's Speech yet, and as an admitted Firth fan (both Colin and Jonathan), I might be a little biased towards the movie, sight-unseen. But as good as The Fighter is, it's not quite Best Picture in my mind. A nominee yes, but there were some things that were still kinda Sports Movie Cliches. Just a few tiny things that I'd say would keep it from being Best Picture Winner worthy. But that's just my opinion now. I'll let you know again after I see The King's Speech.
And as a warning, there is a lot of foul language. Lowell was a mill town suffering as the mills were closing at the time of this movie. The characters are facing steep unemployment rates, and came from a lower-income side of the town. Not a combination for highly educated, profanity-free dialogue.
Oh, and they really did shoot a documentary about Dicky's addiction. HBO released a documentary in 1995 called High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell, which followed Eklund and two other crack addicts for 18 months. The documentary does end with Eklund receiving a 10-15 year prison sentence, like in the movie here.
Overall: 5 of 5. Christian Bale's performance alone would be worth seeing, but add Melissa Leo and the rest of the cast, and it's one not to miss. And even better, it's an uplifting movie! A hard road to get there, but a positive ending to cap it off. Win all around!
Plot: Based on a real story. Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund are a boxer and his trainer, half-brothers from Lowell, MA. The story follows Ward's rise to a world title, amidst family drama and his brother's struggles with drug addiction.
I loved it.
If you think it's "just a boxing movie," you're missing out. It's family drama, it's rising above circumstances, it's overcoming bad choices and moving on. And yes, there is boxing too. But the titular Fighter isn't just Micky; it can be applied to most of the characters in the movie. To sound sappy, it's a movie about the 'keep on fighting' attitude, overcoming internal and external struggles.
The acting is absolutely awesome. I wanted to see it due to the cast - I really like Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, and Amy Adams is solidly one of my favorite actresses my age-ish. And that was before Oscar season. As it turned out, 3 of the 4 leads earned Oscar nominations (Christian Bale as Dicky, Melissa Leo as their mother Alice, and Amy Adams as Micky's girlfriend Charlene - the women in the same category). Bale and Leo both won, in case you hadn't heard.
I really can't say enough about the cast. I like Mark Ruffalo and Geoffrey Rush (two of the other Supporting Actor nominees) but Christian Bale was outstanding. His character went the gamut - crack addict, coming clean, rebuilding what he'd broken. And in seeing the interviews with the actual brothers (they run during the credits), Bale nailed a lot of Dicky's mannerisms. Another role Bale changed his weight for too. I haven't read that he lost as much weight as for The Machinist, but he definitely lost some. Beyond acting, on a purely physical note, he really pulled off the gaunt crack addict look - he just has the cheek bones for it. He loses some weight and BAM! there they are. Just makes his face look so much leaner. And I really liked the interviews at the opening and ending of the movie. Apparently those were improvised by the actors while in character. Just hearing how Dicky's voice cracked at the end was so perfect.
Melissa Leo, too, as the mother was great. I think my favorite scene with her was where she picked up Dicky from the crack house. You can see her just crumbling, her chin and mouth just barely shaking as she's trying to keep from sobbing outright.
Another thing I really liked about the movie was the soundtrack. Some of the songs were internal (I don't know if that's the right term - like when the stereo in the car or the room is playing them?) and some were overlaid. It was a really good selection of songs, and a lot of them lyrically-appropriate, which is always fun. 'Course, I like Rolling Stones and Dropkick Murphys and Led Zepplin and the Chili Peppers, so it really was a soundtrack after my own tastes as well.
I know that I haven't seen The King's Speech yet, and as an admitted Firth fan (both Colin and Jonathan), I might be a little biased towards the movie, sight-unseen. But as good as The Fighter is, it's not quite Best Picture in my mind. A nominee yes, but there were some things that were still kinda Sports Movie Cliches. Just a few tiny things that I'd say would keep it from being Best Picture Winner worthy. But that's just my opinion now. I'll let you know again after I see The King's Speech.
And as a warning, there is a lot of foul language. Lowell was a mill town suffering as the mills were closing at the time of this movie. The characters are facing steep unemployment rates, and came from a lower-income side of the town. Not a combination for highly educated, profanity-free dialogue.
Oh, and they really did shoot a documentary about Dicky's addiction. HBO released a documentary in 1995 called High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell, which followed Eklund and two other crack addicts for 18 months. The documentary does end with Eklund receiving a 10-15 year prison sentence, like in the movie here.
Overall: 5 of 5. Christian Bale's performance alone would be worth seeing, but add Melissa Leo and the rest of the cast, and it's one not to miss. And even better, it's an uplifting movie! A hard road to get there, but a positive ending to cap it off. Win all around!
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