Let the Fight Begin!

The fighter is a fantastic addition to the biographical sports genre, following the early years of the boxer Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his brother Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale). It is the central theme, of the ordinary person in an against all odds battle to becoming a boxing champion that makes the film so compelling. And it wouldn’t be a battle without some struggle, here in the form of Micky’s brother Dicky who fights with his own failures and drug addiction.

Bales performance is ingenious and draws you into the inner-city working class Massachusetts world. He grips you into caring about this character, leaving the audience wanting to know more about him, forgetting that this is just a movie. To play Dicky, Bale had to lose a major amount of weight to realistically portray his crack addiction, and took extensive notes on Eklunds mannerisms and recorded conversations for the character’s distinct Boston accent. Director David O.Russell was impressed by Bales contributions to the film and believed Bale’s task was difficult, as to play Dicky, he ‘had to understand how his mind works’.

Wahlberg made the same commitment to the character having the Ward brothers temporarily move into his home during pre-production. However before this, his commitment to getting the film made was most commendable. His persistence to follow through with this project was inspiring, but once the perfect cast and crew were formed, magic happened. It could have been due to his dream gym being installed in his home and working out every day making the visuals of this film so convincing, but this film reeks of naturalism and takes the boxing genre to a whole new level.

For the younger generation, who isn’t aware of the Ward brother’s story, the love interest for Micky creates an added depth keeping the audience wanting more. Amy Adams who plays Charlene breaks the mould of her usual characters to portray the local barmaid and city girl. Her spunk and audacity in this role is a new challenge for her but one that will make his even more popular among her fans. She even gets down and dirty in a hilarious fight scene with some of Micky and Dicky’s 7 sisters.

Furthermore the family psychodrama is the only other thing apart from boxing that consume Micky’s life and takes centre stage in the film bringing a whole new element to the boxing biopic. Melissa Leo, who plays Micky’s overbearing and micro managing mother and manager makes you question what is more daunting for Micky Ward, getting in the ring with someone double his size, or introducing Charlene to his mother for the first time.   

Hysterically funny, and deeply intriguing, Walberg, Bale, Adams and Leo bring this story to life, making this film well worth the wait. And just in time for award season as Bale and Leo both won the best supporting actor for the Screen Actors Guild Awards among others.