The Fighter (2010)

Film: The Fighter (2010)

Director: David O. Russell

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams

Last night I had the pleasure to be at the Little Cinema in Bath to watch a free preview of David O Russell's new boxing epic, The Fighter, hosted by Little White Lies magazine and Grolsch. This was the second time I've attended one of these evenings, the first being The King's Speech in Decemeber, and it was a brilliant evening yet again. Free cheese and a bottle of cold Grolsch (in a posh glass as well) is a nice touch and it sets you up nicely before the film starts rolling.

The Fighter was a fantastic and compelling film, and is easily O Russell's crowning glory of his directing career to date, thanks largely to two award-worthy performances from Wahlberg and especially Bale. This is not a Rocky re-hash or your typical rags-to-riches tale, but a shocking yet inspiring piece of cinema. Wahlberg plays Micky Ward, a down on his luck welterweight from Lowell, Massachusetts who isn't on the path to pugilist glory he'd perhaps prefer. Micky's failures in the ring are largely due to his crack addicted brother and trainer Dickie (Bale) and his mother's (Michelle Leo) terrible management of his boxing career. Micky's family, despite professing their love and support for him, are responsible for destroying his pursuit of that elusive championship. I don't want to spoil the plot so I won't reveal anything else, but I can admit that the film's success is not necessarily in the ring (although the boxing scenes are brutally good) but in the home, where we see Micky having to battle against his own family who think everything they do is for his own good, when in fact they are only damaging Micky even more. Wahlberg's performance as Ward is exceptional and he succeeds in making his character more than just a numb-skulled brawler but somebody you actually care about, which makes it even more satisfying when he wins his battles, in the ring and within his family.

Unfortunately for Wahlberg, Christian Bale steals the show as Dickie, the unreliable sibling who can't shake his crack addiction, and never lets you forget he once (supposedly) knocked down the legendary Sugar Ray Leonard. Bale is mesmerising in The Fighter, with his scrawny and uncomfortable body language, thick and humorous Bostonian accent perfected, and his incessant need to chew on something, even when it appears he has nothing to chew. It would be a mighty shame if Bale doesn't walk away with the Best Supporting Actor award from the Oscars this year - he deserves it. You need to see him to believe, but Bale's turn as Dickie might possibly be his finest performance to date. Bale is unrecognisable from the man we see in Nolan's Batman films, in The Fighter he IS Dickie, 100%. A marvellous piece of acting. The supporting cast were terrific as well, adding so much to what makes The Fighter superb, with Amy Adams and Michelle Leo leading the way (both of them nominated for Supporting Actress awards also). Adams plays Charlene, Micky's tough yet supportive girlfriend who only wants the best for her man. Leo is Micky's dominating and emotional mother Alice, who cannot realise that her 'I am right all the time' attitude is causing more harm than good to her son. Both actresses deserve whatever success they get from the Academy, as they are perfect in their roles in The Fighter.

I highly recommend you go and see The Fighter as soon as you can. You don't have to be a boxing enthusiast to enjoy this film, as The Fighter is more about family than fighting (although there is plenty of fighting!). Bale's performance is probably worth the price of admission in itself. You won't be disappointed.

A More Enjoyable Reality Rating: 9/10

Thanks for reading.

Love and Other Drugs (2010)

Film: Love and Other Drugs (2010)

Director: Edward Zwick

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway

Love and Other Drugs follows drugs-rep Jamie Randall (Gyllenhaal), a brash pharmaceutical salesman who charms his way into women's beds as and when he likes. That is until Jamie comes across the mysterious free-spirit Maggie Murdock (Hathaway) who just happens to be the woman of his dreams, the love of his life. Zwick's film is not your typical rom-com from the start but Love and Other Drugs soon finds itself going down the cliché road of most romantic comedies. Boy meets girl, boy can't have girl, boy gets girl, problem occurs, pair make up and live happily ever after. Now obviously there is more to this film than that simple analysis, but at the heart of it Love and Other Drugs was a good film, but not a great one. It did what a romantic comedy was supposed to do, but that was about it. To put it simply, nothing stood out to make this a must-see movie but then again, that is perhaps missing the point. This is the type of film you go to with a partner, a film to laugh at and enjoy. Love and Other Drugs hits the spot in that respect.

I'm not trying to put down this film though, not at all - it was still an entertaining flick, with Gyllenhaal at his best. I've always been a bit of a Jake fan, and Donnie Darko, despite its weirdness, is up there with my favourite films. However I've never really liked Anne Hathaway in the past (still not sure if she'll make a good Catwoman or not...), but she did well in Love and Other Drugs and I have no complaints with her performance. It was clear that Jake and Hathaway have chemistry as they really worked well together on screen, which benefited the film enormously. Gyllenhaal's character Jamie was particularly good, as he progressed from an arrogant ladies man and a bit of a knob into a person you care about, especially in the scenes when Maggie was having serious problems with her disease (early on-set Parkinsons if you didn't know). The supporting cast were terrific, with Hank Azaria and Oliver Platt standing out, though it might have been nice if their characters were expanded on a bit more. Relative newcomer Josh Gad, who played Jamie's calamitous brother Josh, was perhaps a bit over the top at times but he was there to provide some laughs and he achieved that - the scene where Jamie comes home to find his brother Josh masturbating over Jamie and Maggie's sex tape was hilariously awkward. During the opening credits I was pretty surprised when I saw that Edward Zwick was behind this one, as Love and Other Drugs is nothing like any of his previous work I've seen (Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Defiance, Legends of the Fall). This is not in any way a bad thing, as Love and Other Drugs was a fun and enjoyable film, which is exactly what it was meant to be.

A More Enjoyable Reality Rating: 7/10

Next up on my cinema schedule is The Fighter, which I will be going to see this Tuesday night (the 25th). I was successful getting tickets to see the free preview at The Little Theatre Cinema, and I'm eagerly anticipating seeing this. I have heard Bale is incredible... you'll find out when I write about The Fighter later this week!

Thanks for reading.