The Fighter sneaks up on you and knocks you out by the end…kind of like how “Irish” Micky Ward fought. The story is based on the true story of Micky, a boxer from Lowell, Massachusetts. It’s surprisingly the most powerful and emotional movie of the year. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams, The Fighter depicts a struggling fighter who not only has to fight his opponents, but the people he loves as well. It’s a story of the underdog, 2nd chances, brotherhood, and family.
The film begins with a documentary being shot of Micky’s half-brother, Dicky. He is known for knocking Sugar Ray Leonard to the mat and is a local hero called “The Pride of Lowell.” We get introduced to the crazy Dicky Eklund ridiculously played well by Christian Bale. We also get to meet the rest of their crazy family. If you looked up white trash in the dictionary, you would have opened more books than this whole family combined (switched it up on you there, didn’t I?). The brothers have too may sisters to count who all seem to share the same brain, their mother (or “ma”) is both of their managers, and they have a couple of fathers…everyone’s pretty confused about that one.
If you had a family like Micky's, you would want to hit someone too
If you know the story of Micky Ward, this movie follows him through the rough times and great. He starts off losing fights and having to go through a lot of turmoil with his family until he decides to cut them off and focus on what was in his best interests including his future wife played by the beautiful Amy Adams. Luckily, his overbearing brother ends up in prison after a few bad decisions fueled by a crack addiction. As Micky refocuses, so does Dicky as he cleans himself up represented by the go to film shot of the blinding sun in a bright cloudy sky.
Micky visiting Dicky in jail
The direction and cinematography of this film is a bit different. There are a few weird cuts and interesting transitions but it works well for this movie. There are plenty of closeups and moving cameras which allow us to get personal with the actors. The fights are shot as if they were archive pieces which is great for a boxer biopic. Sometimes you’re caught wondering if you’re watching the real fight or the staged scene. As in any sports movie, there are a couple montages for training and moving up the ranks in fighting. The beginning is a bit slower than the conclusion but you’ll appreciate that by the end of the film because you’ll feel as if you lived the struggle alongside Micky.
The Prides of Lowell
That’s where it hits you. Throughout the movie, you’ve watched what Micky had to deal with. Whenever you watch a boxing match, you typically only see the rounds in the ring. Sometimes you catch the build up to the fight and if you’re a real fan, you see how the boxer trains. But this movie shows you the personal life through fights, after careers, and everything in between. How a champion for a night lives for all of the other minutes that aren’t in the 15 of fame. And then, when you see him put it all on the line, when he gives everything he has, when he puts everything he’s had to deal with out in the open…that’s The Fighter.
Micky Ward's Title Bout
It’s interesting that this film was made already. The story of Micky Ward is fairly recent…he won the WBU Light Welterweight Championship just 10 years ago in 2000 and yes, he’s still alive. You should definitely check this one out and I guarantee it’ll have a presence at the Oscars this year.
Tags: Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter
Matthew Fong created advancescreenings.com and is the lead contributor. He watches every type of movie and will try almost anything twice. You can follow him on twitter here: @matthewfong
