The Fighter delivers great performances, but fails to pack a punch.
David O. Russel’s The Fighter is less about the boxing and more about the drama and struggle outside of the ring. Most of the film’s substance comes from the dynamics between the family of Micky Ward (Wahlberg). With such fine actors filling these roles and delivering great performances, this provides for an interesting drama. You’re left to watch as this self-destructive family can overcome the shortcomings that threaten to tear them apart, all manifested in the family’s infatuation with boxing and Micky’s career. And yes, that’s Micky without an E as Ward diligently points out in the film.
The Fighter is a dramatic biopic which tells the tale of “Irish” Micky Ward’s early boxing career. In a real life Rocky-ish type of way, Micky rises through the ranks as a “stepping stone” fighter to the World Light Welterweight Champion. His half-brother Dicky Eklund (Bale), an ex-boxer himself now a drug-addict, trains Micky through his rise and his mother Alice Ward (Leo) manages Micky’s career in a haphazard way (with seemingly good intentions though). Along the way we watch the family struggle with the pressures (both inside and outside of the ring) of the boxing ward. All of which comes to a head when Micky falls for local bartender Charlene Fleming (Adams). Convinced by his new girlfriend that his family’s methods may be destructive to him, Micky tries to keep his family from falling apart as he tries to also make something of his boxing career.
The best part of this movie is its performances. Most notably, Christian Bale turns in one of the best of his career. It’s my belief that that Best Supporting Actor Oscar is his at this point. Bale delivers just an incredibly nuanced and inspired performance that will leave you disgusted, saddened and sympathetic all at the same time. He steals the show every time he appears on-screen. This shows why Bale is often considered one of the finest actors of our time. And his extreme weight-loss (a la The Machinist) to play the role of a crackhead, just further proves his dedication to the art. You can tell he did his homework for this one. That’s even more evidenced when the credits role and we’re given a look at the real-life Dicky Eklund. Bale’s performance is eerily spot-on.
Melissa Leo and Amy Adams both turn in fine Oscar-worthy performances as well. Leo’s performance as Micky’s “white trash” mother, who is both stubborn and a bit disillusioned, brings a humanity and such a sincere realistic feel to the Ward family. This realism is where the movie really shines as the family sucks you in. Likewise, Amy Adams seems to step out of her comfort zone to deliver a great performance as well as Micky’s new girlfriend. Her take-no-shit attitude provides for some interesting clashes between her and Leo, as mother and girlfriend seem to both be trying to look out for Micky, but both do so in different manners, creating something of a tug-of-war with Ward in the middle.
It really is a fine ensemble cast. The weak link though has to be the lead, Wahlberg. Of course, this is exactly the role you don’t want to be the weak link. I just don’t find Wahlberg charming enough to pull off a role like this, thus his character never seemed to draw you in. However, I won’t put this all on Wahlberg, as the script itself doesn’t help matters. The story seems to focus too much on the supporting roles and never providing any depth to the Micky Ward character. He’s left to just be an object of attention in the middle of a dramatic tug-of-war. Ward himself is far too passive a character in the movie to inspire any sympathy or emotional attachment from the audience. Of course, this could be a result of the real-life Micky Ward being the same way, but it doesn’t lend itself well to a movie like this. As a result, you never feel connected with Ward. Thus, The Fighter is far less inspiring than it could have been.
At the end of the day, The Fighter is a decent enough film, but nothing that will put it up there with the greats. It’s one where the acting far outweighs the script and movie itself. With a weak/shallow/uninspiring/passive lead, the movie relies heavily on its supporting cast. This supporting cast does an excellent job. However, I don’t think a supporting cast can ever truly carry a movie to greatness as the lead is what really draws the audience in. By that measure,The Fighter just fails to deliver. Again, far less inspiring than it could’ve been. Excellent acting though makes this, at least, worth a watch. But the film as a whole fails to live up to the hype.