Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg Deliver Knockouts in ‘The Fighter’

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CHICAGO – David O. Russell’s “The Fighter” is an old-fashioned crowd-pleaser with one of the strongest ensembles of 2010 and the kind of underdog story that’s easy for an audience to embrace and adore. “The Fighter” will have thousands of hardcore fans, people who watch it every time it’s on cable and give it as gifts to their husband, father, or brother. It’s a movie that simply works. Is it great art? Not really. It’s not ambitious enough to be called great art. But it is great entertainment.

“The Fighter” has a simple title for a reason. Its central character has arguably the least dramatic arc of any boxing movie. Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg) fights. He stops fighting. He fights again. Around him swirl an ensemble of larger-than-life characters, but Mickey is the straight man of the piece — the man who fights. And it’s the deceptively simple structure of the story that actually works to its benefit. We can project whatever we want on to Mickey. He can be what we think we are or what we want to be. Most of us won’t identify with the saga of Mickey’s brother Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale) or his borderline-insane mother Alice (Melissa Leo), but we all like to think that we’re a fighter in life.

The Fighter
The Fighter
Photo credit: Paramount

And it’s that identifiable aspect of the boxer that has made it the most prominent sport featured in film history. We love to watch men reduced to nothing but their fists who can get up off the mat and beat the odds because we all like to think we can do the same, even if just symbolically. And most of us have been lucky enough to have supportive families like Mickey Ward’s. His brother, mother, and Bud-swilling sisters are undeniably supportive. They may be crazy, but they’re supportive.

“The Fighter” actually begins with the story of Dicky Eklund, a former boxer who still refers to himself as “The Pride of Lowell” for the one match in which he knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard (although he might have just slipped). Time has not been kind to Dicky and while he believes that HBO has returned to Lowell to follow his comeback story, they’re actually there to document the impact of crack cocaine. Dicky has absolutely no focus but he also knows how to train his brother. Mickey may be known as a stepping stone, a boxer other managers use to build up their fighter’s resume, but Dicky and Mickey are going to change that.

There are three major events that propel Mickey Ward to the final act of “The Fighter.” First, he finally gets up the nerve to ask out the sexy bartender Charlene (Amy Adams), who would become a major force in his life, finally convincing him that listening to his family wasn’t always in his best interest. Second, he loses a major fight on ESPN that he never should have been in in the first place. Finally, Dicky ends up in a fight with the police and goes to jail.

The Fighter
The Fighter
Photo credit: Paramount

“The Fighter” is not an unpredictable film. It’s pretty easy to see where it’s going, which makes the trip more important than the destination. And you couldn’t have a more talented ensemble with which to take that trip. Christian Bale gives one of the best performances of his notable career, embodying not just the junkie aspect of Dicky, which would have been easy, but also nailing the brother, fighter, trainer, and son angles. He’s once again taken a part that could have been cliched and made it completely three-dimensional. He’ll win an Oscar and he’ll deserve it.

But this is not just the Christian Bale show. Amy Adams and Melissa Leo match him in the supporting department, giving spectacular performances that perfectly balance each other. Both women love and support Mickey Ward. Both women will do anything for him. But Alice is torn by her support for and denial about the life of her other son while Charlene seems like the first woman to completely devote herself to Mickey. Adams and Leo take their parts and do more than 95% of other actresses would have with the same roles. They’re spectacular.

Bale, Adams, and Leo are guaranteed Oscar nominees but we shouldn’t ignore the contributions of Wahlberg. He’s the straight man to the chaos around him and he’s perfect. One never doubts that he’s completely in the moment. His chemistry with Adams is instant and his brotherly relationship with Bale never feels false. He doesn’t have a showy role and he’s surrounded by at least two people who do (Leo & Bale). But he’s still great.

The Fighter
The Fighter
Photo credit: Paramount

Naturally, with an ensemble this strong overall, the director deserves some credit. And Russell stages the fight scenes brilliantly, using just the right rock song choices for training scenes and fights. You’ll never listen to “Here I Go Again” in quite the same way.

If “The Fighter” has a weakness, it’s in the script. I appreciate the simplicity of the story but wished for a little more shading to the characters. The crack house in which Dicky spends much of his time doesn’t feel dark enough. The scenes between Charlene and Mickey aren’t quite passionate enough. The moments when Alice loses it aren’t quite angry enough. I wanted a little more punch in this fighter every now and then.

Ultimately, “The Fighter” is about having as many people in your corner as conceivably possible. Some of them may be crazy, but one needs to take what they can from each person willing to have their back. It’s the only way to win the fight.

‘The Fighter’ stars Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, and Jack McGee. It was written by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson and directed by David O. Russell. It opens on December 17th, 2010. It is rated R.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

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