The Fighter: The “Feel-Good” Film
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo
Directed by: David O. Russell
Other Nominated Categories: Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress (x2), Directing, Film Editing, Original Screenplay
If there’s anything people love more than WWII movies, it’s boxing movies. Following in the wake of films such as Rocky, Raging Bull, The Hurricane and Million Dollar Baby, The Fighter was destined to make it into the good graces of the Academy.
The Fighter is the inspirational true story of Lowell, Mass., welterweight boxer “Irish” Mickey Ward (Wahlberg). Mickey’s dollar-sign-seeing mother Alice Ward (Leo) and his crack addict, former Pride of Lowell, older half-brother Dicky Eklund (Bale) manage his career. Unfortunately, Mickey’s boxing days seems to be on the outs. To make matters worse, Dicky films an HBO special about his day-to-day affairs; he tells people the series is about his “comeback” (he once knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard in his own boxing days) when it’s actually about his drug addiction.
Mickey, embarrassed by his string of defeats, withdraws from his family and begins a relationship with college dropout turned bartender, Charlene Fleming (Adams). Alice, Dicky and their seven sisters try to motivate Mickey back into the ring, but Dicky’s shenanigans to win back Mickey’s favor gets him a nice, long prison sentence instead. Ashamed at what he’s become, Dicky decides to turn his life around. Though they hit a few more rough patches, Dicky eventually helps Mickey get a chance to fight for the welterweight title in London.
Boxing film lovers should be warned, though. This is not merely a film about boxing but about the dysfunctional family of one boxer. While it might not be what’s expected at first, it is truly a fantastic film. And as well it should be.
Mark Wahlberg trained four years before the film was finally pieced together; he called it his obsession. Interestingly enough, much of what is represented on film could be viewed as a reflection of Wahlberg’s own life. Like Ward, he grew up in blue-collar Massachusetts and is one of nine children. He knew Ward’s story from his childhood and worked nonstop to get the film made. While his dedication didn’t get him a Best Actor nod, he is at least recognized as the primary producer.
Fun fact: Another executive producer is none other than director Darren Aronofsky. Aronofsky was originally signed on to direct The Fighter but dropped it to pursue other projects, namely Black Swan. Luckily, David O. Russell — who Wahlberg had worked with on Three Kings and I Heart Huckabees — agreed to do the film. I’d say it was the wise choice, as he is nominated for his first Oscar for the flick.
Another problem Wahlberg ran into was casting (and keeping) an actor to play Dicky. Previously signed were Brad Pitt and Matt Damon. Both, obviously, dropped the project. Fortunately, Christian Bale was willing to face the challenge of the role. It’s even rumored that Wahlberg approached him about playing Dicky at the daycare both of their daughters attend. Bale, as you know, has been nominated by the Academy for this supporting role. While Wahlberg is the silent rock of the film, Bale is the one to give the film its force. His powerful portrayal of Dicky is moving and even has the ability to catch the viewer off guard.
“David would say a couple of times, ‘OK, be Dicky,’ and that’s just not the way I work,” Bale says in a press junket for the film. “I kind of slowly do it, like a frog that you stick in cold water and slowly turn up the heat so it never knows it’s being boiled alive. Eventually it’s just happening, but it’s vague, the line where you started. And when you’ve done it that way, it can take a bit of time to wear off.”
Surprisingly, this is Bale’s first Oscar nom. I would argue that he should have been nominated for The Machinist, but apparently his violent weight loss is more appreciated for this role. (He supposedly lost 20 lbs. to more accurately portray Dicky’s drug addiction, although, that’s nothing compared to the 70 lbs. lost for The Machinist). Some say that his holier-than-thou attitude might cost him the win, even if he does deserve it more than the others nominated in his category.
While this film is primarily about Mickey and Dicky, it does feature some strong female characters. Both Amy Adams and Melissa Leo are up for Best Supporting Actress for their outstanding performances. And it seems the Academy is favoring Leo for the win.
“[The women] made the story very special to me, in combination with these brothers and their brothers’ dynamic,” Russell says in an interview with NPR. “The seven sisters, the mother — the women helped make the men what they were and were so pivotal to the family.”
And so the time has come for me to pronounce this as my favorite of the 10 nominated Best Picture films. For that reason, I saved writing this post for last. At the risk of sounding too fangirl, I’ll admit how much I love both Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale — I’ve admired their careers since the Funky Bunch and Newsies days, respectively. You might say, “But Brooke, you were only 5 years old.” And I say, “Tell that to my parents, who let me watch Terminator 2 on a weekly basis.”
The Bottom Line: The Fighter was everything I hoped it would be and more. If Christian Bale doesn’t win Best Supporting Actor, I will have lost all faith in The Academy. Fall will be my new favorite season.
SOURCES:
http://www.nme.com/movies/reviews/movie-review-the-fighter/11837
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/10/movies/10fighter.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/movies/05bale.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0964517/
http://www.npr.org/2011/01/06/132679137/wahlberg-russell-pack-fighter-fu…