The Fighter

David O. Russell is a somewhat notorious figure amongst Hollywood directors, known for his volatile behaviour on film sets (he actually got into a physical fight with George Clooney once). The Fighter is the third of his consecutive collaborations with Mark Wahlberg, who is perhaps the only actor willing to continuously work with Russell. It's a less unique film than his last two efforts (I Heart Huckabees and Three Kings) but perhaps no less confronting, with Russell telling the story of the Ward family - a would-be boxing dynasty from the slums of Irish-Boston. The Fighter is one of those exhausting true stories that puts you through the ringer with it's protagonist ('Irish' Micky Ward, played by Wahlberg), exploring the limits of family ties alongside crack addiction and other damaging factors.

Micky is actually the younger brother of Dicky Ward (Christian Bale), a flash-in-the-pan boxer from the 1970s whose drug problem is beginning to affect his role as Micky's trainer. The Ward brothers should be the pride of their neighbourhood (and in Dicky's mind they are) but they're really a joke. The Fighter takes a familiar boxing rags-to-riches story and looks at it from a different viewpoint... Micky clearly has the talent to be a welterweight contender, it isn't the opponents he has to beat, nor is it your normal struggle-within story (Micky comes across as a gentleman and a man of principles, completely at odds with the rest of his family). No, before he can beat the game he has to beat his family. He has to overcome the career-destroying obstacles posed by his deadbeat brother (his trainer) and his selfish white trash mother (his manager, played by Melissa Leo).

Russell introduces us to the characters via a documentary that is being made about the Ward brothers... at first I thought the film might be some kind of digicam mockumentary, but this aspect of the film is actually something entirely different and if you don't already know the real life story of the Ward brothers it's probably better if I don't tell you anything else about it. Most of the film's punching weight (see what I did there?) comes via the performances of Wahlberg, Bale, Leo and Amy Adams. Bale transforms himself both physically and verbally, finally realising the potential he's been talking up for years and doing some genuinely great acting for once. Dicky is an extroverted loudmouth and wheeler-dealer figure, gradually flushing his life down the toilet and taking his family with him. He's also a chip off his mother's block - the mater Ward is a trashy parasite who will make you want to throw things at the screen. It's an irritatingly spot-on reproduction from Leo of the sort of person most of us would prefer never to meet.

It's a fairly straightforward drama heightened by some great performances and a few minor directorial curveballs. I actually found the Sanchez fight halfway through the film to be more emotionally charged and effective than the climactic bout at the end, but overall it's still a satisfying narrative. As is the way with these sorts of movies, you really come to cheer for Micky as he fights his way to the opportunities he needs. It's solid stuff, and proves that sports film can still be new and interesting.

DIRECTOR: David O. Russell
WRITER/SOURCE: Screenplay by Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson, with story input from Keith Dorrington. Based on the true stories of the Ward brothers.
KEY ACTORS: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, Amy Adams, Jack McGee, Sugar Ray Leonard, Sean Patrick Doherty

RELATED TEXTS:
- High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell, a HBO special from 1995 on crack addiction in the Wards' neighbourhood.
- As mentioned earlier, David O. Russell's two previous films with Mark Wahlberg were I Heart Huckabees and Three Kings.
- There have been over 100 boxing films made in Hollywood and elsewhere. Some of the more famous ones are The Champ, Raging Bull, Rocky, Cinderella Man, Somebody Up There Likes Me, Million Dollar Baby, The Harder They Fall and Golden Boy.

AWARDS
Academy Awards - won Best Supporting Actor (Christian Bale) and Best Supporting Actress (Melissa Leo). Also nominated for Best Supporting Actress (Amy Adams), Best Direction, Best Editing, Best Film and Best Original Screenplay.
BAFTAs - nominated Best Supporting Actor (Bale), Best Supporting Actress (Adams) and Best Original Screenplay.
Golden Globes - won Best Supporting Actor (Bale) and Best Supporting Actress (Leo). Also nominated for Best Film (Drama), Best Director, Best Actor - Drama (Mark Wahlberg) and Best Supporting Actress (Adams).