Southpaw
29/07/15 Filed in: Cinema
Today's film was Southpaw, with Jake Gyllenhaal playing the boxer Billy Hope. I hadn't pre-read any reviews, nor had I investigated the storyline. So everything was a surprise.
It could have been just another boxing movie. However, it is much more than that. Billy Hope, and his wife Maureen, are both the products of children's homes, which makes their current lifestyle all the more remarkable. Large house, fleet of expensive cars and a treasured daughter. After winning a fight he buys his close friends Cartier watches.
Billy's boxing style seems to be to take punishment as a stimulus to make him fight better. Not a good approach, and certainly not one that will ensure him a long and healthy life. Maureen knows this, and tells him that he can't continue to fight this way. Unfortunately he has been provoked by a challenger in the name of Miguel 'Magic' Escobar.
Before any such match can be arranged the pair meet in public with calamitous results. Billy's world is destroyed and he ends up alone and broke, while his daughter is placed in protective care. He needs to rebuild his life and convince the court that he is a fit parent for his daughter. He also needs to earn some money, so the prospect of a fight with Escobar not only offers a financial reward, but would also allow him to settle a score.
It could have been just another boxing movie. However, it is much more than that. Billy Hope, and his wife Maureen, are both the products of children's homes, which makes their current lifestyle all the more remarkable. Large house, fleet of expensive cars and a treasured daughter. After winning a fight he buys his close friends Cartier watches.
Billy's boxing style seems to be to take punishment as a stimulus to make him fight better. Not a good approach, and certainly not one that will ensure him a long and healthy life. Maureen knows this, and tells him that he can't continue to fight this way. Unfortunately he has been provoked by a challenger in the name of Miguel 'Magic' Escobar.
Before any such match can be arranged the pair meet in public with calamitous results. Billy's world is destroyed and he ends up alone and broke, while his daughter is placed in protective care. He needs to rebuild his life and convince the court that he is a fit parent for his daughter. He also needs to earn some money, so the prospect of a fight with Escobar not only offers a financial reward, but would also allow him to settle a score.
He has been getting himself back into shape at a downtown Gym run by Tick Wills (Forest Whitaker). Wills reluctantly agrees to help him train for the forthcoming fight, having already instructed him in the art of defensive boxing that led to a victory in an exhibition bout. Wills suggest he goes 'southpaw', thus the name of the film.
The final fight is all you would expect, but it is the emotional journey that Hope takes between his fall into despair and his re-entry into top class boxing that makes this film worth watching. Gyllenhaal is superb and must be in the running for an Oscar, while Forest Whitaker as usual gives a fine performance. Rachel McAdams, who I must say I rather like, displays her versatility in what is perhaps a somewhat different role for her.
It seems that the critics generally didn't think much of this movie - there's a surprise! However, audience reaction seems to have been better. Rotten Tomatoes gives the audience feedback as 84%, whereas the critics only give it 58%. One critic [Daily Express] said: "It's just not very exciting or emotional." I'm not sure if he watched the same film as me. Either that or my excitement/emotional threshold must be very low.
The final fight is all you would expect, but it is the emotional journey that Hope takes between his fall into despair and his re-entry into top class boxing that makes this film worth watching. Gyllenhaal is superb and must be in the running for an Oscar, while Forest Whitaker as usual gives a fine performance. Rachel McAdams, who I must say I rather like, displays her versatility in what is perhaps a somewhat different role for her.
It seems that the critics generally didn't think much of this movie - there's a surprise! However, audience reaction seems to have been better. Rotten Tomatoes gives the audience feedback as 84%, whereas the critics only give it 58%. One critic [Daily Express] said: "It's just not very exciting or emotional." I'm not sure if he watched the same film as me. Either that or my excitement/emotional threshold must be very low.