Overshadowed By Shadowboxing, Bale shows Wahlberg the Ropes
The Fighter (2010)
Dir. David O. Russell
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo
7.4
The passion project of Mark Wahlberg finally hit theaters this winter after a few production delays. The story of ‘Irish’ Micky Ward is no different from any other cliche underdog that we all love to see succeed. However, to say The Fighter is just about the formidable Micky Ward (Wahlberg) would be doing grave injustice to Dickie Eklund (Bale), Micky’s half brother who taught him everything he knows about boxing. Micky is a soft spoken, modest, blue collar boxer and in complete contrast is Dickie, an attention seeking loud mouth who’s ability to force the limelight on himself is surprisingly impressive. Whats great about The Fighter is very little of the adversity Micky overcomes is in the ring. When your trainer is your washed up crack addict brother, your matriarch mother is your manager and your ex wife makes it awfully difficult to see your daughter, going twelve rounds with an opponent would be the least of your worries.
Micky’s contender status and ability to continue as a boxer becomes questionable at the hands of the people who should be looking for his best interest, his family. Despite the transgressions committed by his family, Micky’s humble and modest nature as well as his love for his family allows him to look past it. That is until he comes across Charlene (Adams) through who he finds the confidence within himself and the backbone to prioritize his ambitions. Micky comes the point where he needs to decide between his girlfriend and his family, displaying how important your corner is in a fight and in life.
The Fighter focuses on the earlier days of Micky’s career, so if you are going into this film expecting to see a cinematic rendition of Arturo Gatti vs Micky Ward, you will be disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, this is very much a boxing film, down to the HBO camera productions. The biggest draw for me was that the boxing scenes were full contact, however to the various MMA/Boxing heads out there who have seen there fair share of prize fights, it is sub par to any contest witnessed.
Mark Wahlberg’s hometown Dorchester, is a small town outside the Boston area, much like the town Micky and Dicky are from Lowell, Massachusetts. So it is no wonder that this project is near and dear to Marky Mark, playing Irish Micky Ward is well within the scope of Wahlberg’s limited ability. Amy Adam’s strive to escape her type casting has resulted in a notable performance as the sexy and strong willed love interest. However as expected and very much like the characterization of Dickie Eklund, Christian Bale steals the spotlight from beginning to end with his phenomenal portrayal of the troubled former pro. Likewise Melissa Leo’s portrayal of the matriarch Alice Ward overshadows the lead actress despite the strong on screen chemistry between Wahlberg and Adams. Crazy people just seem to be more captivating than romance.
The Fighter is a ‘dramedy’, with its satire strongly based on the dysfunctional elements of Micky and Dickie’s family. You can’t help but laugh along with the shenanigans and debauchery committed. Not to mention the big hair and all the other esthetics of a late 80s early 90s time piece. Keep an eye out for the cameo of ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard and the actual Micky and Dickie.
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