The Fighter

I had the privilege of watching the Fighter this week and have to say, I loved this movie.

I'm a long time fan of Christian Bale and his accurate portrayal of likable junky"Dickie" is a method acting master class.

We've seen Bale's metamorphosis in films such as The Machinist and Rescue Dawn. Notably the physical appearance, but also his willingness to fully submerge in these characters. The Fighter sits firmly alongside these performance. I kind of feel that, had the character had been played by almost anybody else, I wouldn't have bought in as much as I did.

Now, Dickie has lots of flaws. But drilling down, you find that he's really just clinging on to the glory days. He's trying to relive his mediocre career through his brother but also taking the drugs to recapture a feeling of youth. The days where life was promising and happy and he had his whole career ahead of him.

Dickie isn't a bad person, just desperately flawed. I was rooting for him the whole way through this film. Wishing he'd find his way. Kind of strange considering he's a no good junky that consistently lets his brother down. All credit to Bale.

I found Mark Wahlberg to be solid in this film too. I couldn't fault his performance anywhere. His character was obviously driving the plot forward but he was massively overshadowed by Bale.

Melissa Leo received a lot a critical recognition for her role as the mother. I absolutely hated her character. As far as I could see, not a single redeeming quality. Again, a solid performance and the recognition was truly deserved.

The fight scenes were 100% believable. If they hadn't have been, the film may have lost the authentic feel that it upheld the whole way through. I was especially pleased at an artistic choice made during the last fight too. As the fight plays out and the victorious end approaches, all too many times have we seen a director go for the over the top soundtrack. Rising strings, triumphant tones - cue tears of joy. Director David O. Russell went for the authentic. No overdone soundtrack. And it worked for me. It played out, just as a real fight would. Credit to him too.

All in all a truly enjoyable film. Stay for the credits too as you get to see the real man behind Christian Bales stand out performance.