The Galleon - Portsmouth's Official Student Newspaper

The Fighter: Out in cinemas now

7]

The Fighter tracks the real-life story of Micky “Irish” Ward (Mark Wahlberg) as he tries to make a name for himself as a boxer in the 1980s. His older brother Dicky, played by Christian Bale, is a former successful boxer who is now addicted to crack, and is Micky’s unreliable trainer. Their mother Alice (Melissa Leo) has been poorly managing Micky’s career, and he has failed to make a serious impact on the boxing world.

This is not just a boxing film, although it is key to the plot. It is also a film of family relationships, drugs and love, and the struggles that we all have in the face of failure. It is told both touchingly and with great humour.

The casting is perfect. The changing relationship between Micky and Dicky as the film progresses is believable and realistic. Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg’s dedication to their roles is obvious; with Christian Bale’s gaunt features reflecting Dicky’s years of drug abuse, and Mark Wahlberg’s physique allowing him to pull off a role heavily reliant on boxing. Bale, in particular, appears absorbed by his role, and continually steals the scene.

The direction uses a great deal of free-moving cameras to give this film a rustic, credible feel. This really adds to the atmosphere of the film, and draws the audience in. It has not been over-dramatised or overworked, but is very raw. Whilst the story is somewhat predictable, you expect this from a film based on real-life. It is fairly conventional as a boxing film, but the casting carries it beyond this. You really care about the characters and their struggles.

This is a film up against strong competition in the Oscar-stakes. Other films, such as Black Swan, Inception, The King’s Speech and The Social Network are likely to dominate. But this film deserves a fair shout, if not for its cast alone.

Trailer