Recently, I looked through a buddy’s photos from Afghanistan. Mark Wahlberg had come to his base to premiere The Fighter, and one of the photos showed the movie star carrying all his own gear out of the back of the C-130 on which he’d flown in. Wahlberg, apparently, was a great guy: eating with the junior Marines, making time for a word and a photo with all who asked, and generally making his momma proud.
I’m sure Wahlberg went all the way to Afghanistan because it was the right thing to do. It also worked as a promotional strategy, because I rented The Fighter the day I saw those photos.
It’s a hell of a good movie, but it’s hard to watch. Wahlberg plays Mickey, a small time boxer in a family devoted to small time boxing. His older brother Dicky (Christian Bale, phenomenal here) may have knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard once upon a time, but now he’s a pathetic crackhead. His mother (Melissa Leo, unrecognizable after Frozen River) seems intent on managing him into oblivion. The rest of the circus that comprises his family doesn’t seem much better. Then Wahlberg meets Amy Adams (Enchanted, Charlie Wilson’s War), a local bartender and very tough broad who shows him another way.
I know what you’re thinking: “Why would I see this movie? If I want to spend time with a dysfunctional family, I’ll go home for Christmas.” See it for the performances. See it for Mickey, a fighter who must learn to stop worrying about making everybody happy. See it for Dickey, an ex-fighter who may never learn that it’s impossible to be a cool guy who also smokes a little crack on the side. See it for their mother, who believes she’s the proud matriarch of a noble clan when, in fact, she’s a 70-year-long train wreck that’s about 2/3 of the way through.
The Fighter works, and it works because of these great performers. Seeing this movie is like seeing a master class in the art of acting, and I enjoyed it for that alone. All that, and Mark Wahlberg’s a good guy. What more do you need?
3 comments:
Great review. I agree with everything you said, but because this movie is a true story, it has a very uplifting ending. I did not find it hard to watch. Experiencing the dysfunctional family is necessary to tell the story. Christian Bale and Melissa Leo each won twelve (12) major acting awards (including the Oscar) for their performances and Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams were grat also. This is one of the best movies of 2010.
Y'know, I feel bad about leaving Jack McGee out of my review. The guy's a solid character actor who does such good work that I'm afraid I've taken him for granted.
Christian Bale is just amazing in this movie.
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