I saw this out of sense of Oscar obligation more than genuine desire, and was delighted to find a powerful, moving story. I can’t believe Mark Wahlberg took so long to get this up, it seems a natural for the movies: true story, boxing pic, great role for a star, choice support parts, romance. Wahlberg is strong and also very selfless – even though he’s the producer, ample time is given to the support cast. Christian Bale is brilliant, as is the girl who plays his awful mother. Actually the whole cast is good – it took me a while to get used to Amy Adams in such an untypical role, but once I did I really enjoyed her (she really made something out of the “girlfriend” part).
It’s not just a film about sport, it’s mostly about family – how they can be wonderful and yet horrible at the same time (Wahlberg and Bale’s awful sisters, Bale’s druggie “family”). I had one gripe but can’t figure on how to fix it: the middle point has a big fight scene where Wahlberg is down and out but uses Bale’s tactics to win; then the finale is a fight scene where Wahlberg is down and out but manages to fight back and win (by then Bale is back in his corner). It’s a repeat of the previous emotional moment. But like I say, I don’t know how you could have gotten around it. Maybe trimmed the stuff leading up. David O Russell’s direction keeps everything fresh and interesting.
No comments:
Post a Comment