The Fighter (2010)

This film at its heart is about family. It showcases both the good and bad aspects of family relationships with passion and realism. Characters that seem crazy and toxic to the hopes and dreams of the main character are really doing what they feel is best, and while that may be wrong and their logic may be a little twisted, they do truly care for each other and fight hard for what they feel is best. This is based on real events and it shows. There are no clear cut villains, just the trials, tribulations, schemes and shifting alliances of real people to contend with.

The plot focuses on two brothers, Micky Ward, played by Mark Wahlberg, and Dicky Eklund, played by Christian Bale. Dicky is a former boxing star and current trainer for his brother. His moment of glory was a very close bout with boxing legend Sugar Ray Lenard where he knocked down the super star. Despite not winning the bout, this earned him the nickname the Pride of Lowell, local legend status and a huge ego. Micky has grown up idolizing his brother, but he has also grown up in his brother’s shadow and shows subtle rage that his attempts to make it big in the boxing world have been overshadowed by Dicky Eklund’s “big come back”, including him being followed around by an HBO documentary crew. A particularly brutal bout and a new girlfriend shakes up the family dynamic and leads to new conflicts.

The acting in this movie is amazing. Wahlberg’s performance is both layered and subtle and you really feel his conflict between loyalty to his family, and paths that may be better for his own life. Bale plays a character that is not the typical ego stroking role of a big name actor. Dicky Eklund is a deeply flawed character whose initial antics lead me to dislike this character, but by the end of the movie, I found myself caring nearly as much for Dicky as I did for Micky. Melissa Leo’s role as their mother, Alice Ward, reminded me of some people I know, which is always a plus when a character is realistic enough to bring to mind real people in your life. Jack McGee’s George Ward found an automatic soft spot as the henpecked, but loving father. The role is portrayed with subtly and charisma. All in all I found the acting in this movie top notch and very emotionally powerful without beating you over the head with the emotion of the scene or moving into artificiality.