The Christian Bale Show - A Review of The Fighter

The Fighter is based on the true story of Irish Micky Ward, his battles inside the ring and most prominently, out of it. To speak much of Micky Ward's career would be to ruin the movie for some who aren't familiar with him. Suffice to say it is a pretty much rags to riches story, but done in a way that feels fresh rather than a Rocky rehash!

Going into the film i knew about Micky Ward due to my interest in boxing, which made me want to see it. Plus, one of my favourite actors, Mark Wahlberg was starring (or so it said on the posters, but more on that later). These factors made this a must-see for me so the film had a lot to live up to. There had also been much awards hype made in the media about the film, thus putting it further under pressure to impress. Before i tackle the inevitable topic of my thoughts on the film and whether it matched my mammoth expectations i will give some idea of the plot and mechanics of the movie to help familiarise my fellow hubbers with it.

The plot revolves around Micky Ward's struggle in boxing in his early years. He is being managed by his controlling mother and trained by his crack-head half brother Dick Ecklund (Christian Bale), who had a boxing career of his own and once fought, and 'knocked down' Sugar Ray Leonard, thus earning him the moniker 'The pride of Lowell'. Together these two family members are picking Micky the wrong fights and not putting his career over their own ambitions. On top of this Micky has to deal with around half a dozen sisters who disapprove of his new 'MTV girl' girlfriend Charlene Fleming (Amy Adams). At the same time Dick Ecklund is being followed around by HBO cameras, who in his head are filming a documentary about his comeback to the ring, but in fact are filming a documentary about crack addiction. The crux of the story revolves around Ward's attempts to balance pleasing his family, the woman that he loves and at the same time achieve his dream of being a world champion in boxing.

I'll end the plot details there so that it leaves you some room for surprise when you go see it! The performances are what makes this movie a cut above allother boxing and stereotypicalal sport comeback movies. Amy Adams as Micky's headstrong love interest is electric. She pays the hard nosed character so well and convinces you that she is a match for Micky's equally feisty mother, which is no mean feat. Melissa Leo is also fantastic and makes you both feel sorry for her character that she refuses to see any wrong in Dickie and also angers you to see her drag Micky down when he could be so much more if only left to make his own decisions.

There is not enough bandwidth on hubpages to tell you about Christian Bale's performance. I had read reviews that ranged from brilliant to over the top and laughable. Let me be the one to tell you that the latter review couldn't have been more wrong. Bale is mesmerising as Dickie Ecklund, a scene stealer if ever there has been one, but in a positive way. As you can see from the picture i have included, Christian Bale went all out with this role, going from the beefed up physique he had to play Batman, to an emaciated crack-head.

Bale is always uncomfortable, always busy even when standing to talk he jitters around. Sure there are some comedic moments, but these are intentional. The way he moves, look and talks al feel so authentic. His recounting of the Sugar Ray Leonard fight is always a highlight! There are poignant moments to counter this however, such as Dickie's realisation that the HBO documentary is about his addiction, and his son crying as he's in court. It is truly one of the best screen performances i have had the honour to see. Bale lays it all on the line and inherits the character of Dickie. If the supporting actor Oscar goes anywhere else then it will be a travesty. Saying that the last time i said such a thing was Micky Rourke for The Wrestler and he got overlooked! Fingers crossed I'm not a jinx.

With the strong supporting performances one wonders about the leading man. Wahlberg's role cannot be underestimated, without such a straight lead to play off of the other 3 performances would undoubtedly have suffered. It does feel as though Wahlberg is stuck in the middle of the 3 strong performances, which may at first glance seem like a problem, but it's not. Micky Ward was stuck between 3 strong characters in real life, for Wahlberg t have come out all guns blazing would have been to betray the story, and he does not commit that sin. It is still a credible, strong performance from Wahlberg, one that the role requires. He lets Bale shine as he plays the younger brother who still looks up to Dickie, but knows he isn't helping him. Wahlberg is solid in the role, and deserves plaudits for his performance, it suits the role perfectly.

To conclude my review of The Fighter i'll simply say that it was a delight to watch. The boxing scenes were believable and some of the most realistic since Raging Bull. I named this review the Christian Bale show and that's what i felt. Not in a derogatory way at all, it's great to see somebody take a performance by the horns and really run with it, and that's what Bale has done. The cast were perfect in their roles. There was just the right mix of comedic moments, many coming from Micky's fathers battles with the female dominated household he lives in, and serious moments.

It is my favourite movie of the year so far and will be hard to topple! If this were a fight it would be a 12 round classic.

I give this movie an A.