Director David O. Russell brings an appropriately raw quality to the pugilistic tale of boxer Mickey Ward and his older half-brother Dicky Eklund. But the credit for THE FIGHTER’s success is not Russell’s alone, he shares it with his cast headed by the incredible shrinking Christian Bale.
Based on the true story of light welterweight champion boxer Micky Ward, THE FIGHTER is a Rocky-esque story that feels authentic from the opening scene. Ward, played by Mark Wahlberg, is a talented but unfocused fighter who grew up in the shadow of his brother Dicky Eklund. Dicky is known in their hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts, as the “pride of Lowell” because he went toe-toe with Sugar Ray Leonard in his one shot at immortal greatness. Following Dicky’s heart-breaking but thrilling loss, he withdrew into drug addiction. As Ward’s trainer, Dicky is unreliable. The film opens with the two men working on a road paving crew, which is a long way from the lights and cameras and the ring. This is a story about two common men and the uncommon things they do.
What works most about THE FIGHTER is the overall look of the film. The setting is harsh and characters shot in a way that reveals their flaws. No one, save Amy Adams and Mark Wahlberg, looks very good at all in the movie. No actor here is captured by the Hollywood cameras in a flattering way. Bale (Batman himself) in particular is unrecognizable, having lost a significant amount of weight to play Dicky Eklund. Bale’s physical transformation is reminiscent of his star-making turn in THE MACHINIST. But matching him is Melissa Leo, who has exactly the right look for a movie like this. Leo broke out for many of us in 2008’s FROZEN RIVER. She is a handsome woman with a world-weary look that instills a great amount of credibility in her performance here as the fighters’ domineering mother Alice Ward. While much attention will be given the terrific Bale, Leo has uses all her tools and should garner much award consideration.
On The Film Fix, we selected a clip from the movie where you can see Leo, Bale, Wahlberg, and Adams sitting around in a smoke filled living room arguing. You come away feeling as though you know people exactly like the ones in THE FIGHTER. Your nose almost fills with smoke as the four argue. Like so many moments in the movie, this scene feels stunningly true to life.
David O. Russell doesn’t make many feature films. His last movie was the odd and largely unsuccessful I HEART HUCKABEE’s in 2004. Compared to that niche entry, THE FIGHTER is much more commercial similar to his 1999 film THREE KINGS. Russell inherited this project from director Darren Aronofsky, who left and went on to direct this year’s much-lauded BLACK SWAN. Like Aronofsky, Russell seems to be a director intent on getting the movie made his way. Even if “his way” is contrary to conventional thought and may ruin him. And the look and tone here has his signature all over it. I especially liked the choice to take advantage of what sure sounds like old HBO fight audio tracks matching them with actor recreations of the fight sequences. Russell’s raw approach works in THE FIGHTER and makes everything else in the movie work as well.
