#3: The Fighter

Wait – didn’t I do this one already. Yeah it’s the one about the underdog brothers. With the great fight scenes and terrific acting. It was #5, right? What was it called again, em… Warrior – that’s it! Oh wait.

Yes, The Fighter does share a lot of superficial similarities with Warrior. But thematically, they couldn’t be further apart. Warrior is about conflict and reconciliation. Whereas The Fighter deals with autonomy: lving your own life by distancing yourself from negative influences – even if they’re your own family and friends.
Mark Wahlberg gives an absorbing, restraining performance as Micky Ward, a real-life boxer. He’s struggling professionally and emotionally – in no small part because he’s under the thumb of his overbearing mother and brother. The sharp-mouthed by caring Amy Adams takes him under her wing – and into her bed. She helps him identify what he needs to get his life back on track.

Christian Bale steals every scene as Ward’s manic, drug-addled brother. His heart is in the right place but his misplaced priorites illustrate his selfishness. It’s only when he reaches rock-bottom that he realises that his debilitating crack addiction is holding back his brother’s career and causing anguish for his whole family. I’m not ashamed to admit that my eyes were watering during the scene where Bale watches the TV documentary. Harrowing.

That’s not to say that the fights themselves aren’t gripping. They were shot by former HBO employees using old Betamax cameras, giving each fight an authentic ‘90s pay-per-view feel. Ward’s trainer O’Keefe, a Boston cop, is even played by the real-life O’Keefe. This further adds to the films’s authenticity.

Believe it or not, the films opening and closing scenes were completely improvised. Wahlberg and Bale stayed in character after a long day’s shooting and chatted on a coach while the director filmed. It’s each to make a crown scene appear real (Run! Godzilla!) but infinitely more difficult to make two people talking seem real and believable. But The Fighter pulls it off, and its book-ends contrast to show us how much Bale’s character has developed.

Wow, that was my longest yet. And again, my bloody laptop crashed so I had to rewrite the whole thing! I guess these films are getting more and more personal as we move down the list. Come back tomorrow for #2, winner of the “And it’s Based on a True Story and All” award.