Another movie arrives on Irish cinema screens amidst a torrent of Oscar buzz and hype including 7 nominations.
Directed by David O. Russell (Three Kings) The Fighter follows the true story of “Irish” Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) who travelled a bit of an unlikely road to winning the world light welterweight title. Trained on and off by his brother Dicky (Christian Bale), who never won the title and is also fighting his own battles with drugs, The Fighter, which will suffer occasional comparisons to Rocky, is a very entertaining watch.
Besides this rollercoaster to victory, Micky is getting bounced around the family ring as his mother (Melissa Leo) is the driving force behind his so called career. He’s never got far and when a change of management comes and insists on Dicky getting the boot as coach his career takes a turn for the better. Dicky eventually ends up in prison and finds his way back to being sober and once again getting involved with Micky. And the rest, in between the best fights and dysfunctional family life, is written in the winning section of the history books.
Wahlberg looks great here. Serious bulking up must have been undertaken in what is a very solid, but almost emotionless performance. He doesn’t put a foot wrong, but his on screen presence is KO’d every time he shares the screen with Bale or Melissa Leo. Leo plays the over involving mother incredibly well in a performance that is certainly worthy of an Oscar. Her facial tones in particular set the tone instantly and she always adds something special to each scene that she’s in. For me though, Christian Bale is after putting in a career best performance. His transformation into Dicky is something unique. The accent is spot on and never once does it falter. The mannerisms, right down to the walk are completely amazing. Anytime he is on screen he ignites it and blows everyone else away. Again, an Oscar here is almost a given.
As for the movie itself, it’s well shot although the boxing elements of the whole thing are almost secondary to the drama. When they do happen, they seem a little bit meandering at times and feel a little bit dragged out. But overall, they add the icing to a very nice cake.
The Fighter is a solid, feel good movie and Bale’s performance is worth the price of admission alone. Well worth a watch!
Director: David O. Russell
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Melissa Leo
Running Time: 92 minutes
Certificate: 15A IRE / 15 UK
Released: Feb 3 2011 (IRE)
