(Brotherly love in the boxing ring…)
CAST: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, Mickey O’Keefe, Jack McGee.
DIRECTOR: David O. Russell
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and two bad-ass brothers lookin’ out of each other - straight ahead…
In our recent review for THE KING’S SPEECH (review # 223), we discussed the real-life “Bromance” between King George VI (Colin Firth) and his eccentric speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Logue helped His Royal Highness conquer a stutter that might have undermined the nation’s confidence in the Monarchy. And they basically remained beer buddies for the rest of their lives. Well, okay… maybe they didn’t drink beer - but they definitely got together a few times and slammed back some shots of… English Breakfast tea. To each their own, I guess.
Anyhow, our latest review also tackles a “Bromance.” This time, it’s the most primal kind: a connection between brothers. Now, being linked by blood doesn’t automatically mean two men will get along. Far from it, in fact. Some of the biggest drunken brawls I know have been between dudes who are brothers. So, it’s quite a stroke of good luck when you actually don’t want to drown your brothers in a bathtub full of Windex. It’s an even bigger stroke of luck when you actually, you know, love them.
In that regard, I thank the heavenly pantheon above everyday for giving me two brothers whom I actually click with. We may be separated by thousands of miles, but we’re always in touch. And you can bet that if anyone decided to mess with my baby bros, those people better spend the rest of their lives looking over their shoulders. Because family is sacred, and whoever fucks with it, fucks with it at their own peril.
Which is exactly the case between the brother heroes of THE FIGHTER. They are: (1) Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg), an unassuming boxer who speaks softly but… well, you know the rest - suffice it to say, his bite is worse than his bark; and (2) Dicky Ecklund (Christian Bale), a non-unassuming crackhead ex-boxer who speaks loudly and… well, let’s just say that his bite and his bark are both pretty bad - and it’s impossible to tell which one is worse.
Our story begins at the point where Dicky has pretty much devolved to a life of crack parties and jumping out of back windows to escape his ball-busting mom, Alice (Melissa Leo). His claim to fame was a 1978 bout wherein he knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard, although the nagging rumor seems to be that Sugar Ray actually, um, tripped. Meanwhile, Micky is just beginning his ascent to become a contender in the ring, with Dicky as a trainer. Am I the only one who thinks a boxing trainer should be one who, you know, doesn’t walk around with a crackpipe?
Apparently not, because Micky’s new girlfriend Charlene Fleming (Amy Adams) tells Micky that Dicky is a bad influence - and they need a new trainer if Micky is to have any kind of successful boxing career. Sure enough, Micky caves in to the peer pressure and takes on his Pops (Jack McGee) as a trainer. Meanwhile, Dicky continues to revel in the singularly tragic debauchery of crack - all the while being filmed by an HBO camera crew for a documentary on the evils of drug addiction. Let’s just say that none of this exactly makes Micky re-think his decision to switch trainers.
Things take the turn for the grim when Dicky gets caught in an extortion plot involving fake prostitutes and horny married men (don’t ask). Sentenced to some time behind bars, Dicky basically is given a lot of time to reflect on his bad-boy ways. On the outside, Micky is blazing his way up the slope of Boxing Glory, scoring one knockout after another. It appears that Charlene was right - he just needed a trainer who doesn’t need a fix every twenty minutes.
But during one crucial fight, Dicky - who’s been watching from a jail TV - notices some mistakes in Micky’s routine. Ever the loyal brother, Dicky actually places a call to someone ringside to pass on some key advice to Micky. The result: Micky trounces his opponent and comes one step closer to becoming a legend. All because of his big brother. Bet you didn’t see that one coming, eh? And y’all thought Dicky was just a useless crack whore.
Things get even more complicated when Dicky gets out of Jail and discovers that his baby bro has traded him in for another trainer. Dicky tells Micky that they need each other in order for Micky to go the distance. Charlene and Micky’s Pops beg to fucking differ. And our boy Micky finds himself with an awkward choice: go back to his crack-addicted brother for training - or stick with the set-up he’s got now?
What will Micky do? And is Dicky serious when he says he’s going to cleanup? Or will he go back to using crack and disappoint everyone yet again? Or will he actually prove everyone wrong - and show them there’s more to him than the ability to jump out of a window without breaking a bone? Will Charlene let Micky just go back to his brother’s camp, just like that? Or will she realize that Dicky is right - Micky needs him to go the distance? Can Dicky help Micky succeed where he himself failed?
I’ll let you guys find out for yourselves. All I know is if it was either one of my brothers in that ring, that referee better be on his toes.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: In our review for THE KING’S SPEECH, I called it “the Classiest Bromance I’ve Ever Seen.” That title still holds true. However, THE FIGHTER claims a different title of its own: “Grittiest Bromance I’ve Ever Seen.” Basically, it’s two movies at once: (1) one about the love two brothers have for the exhilarating and often-brutal sport of boxing; and (2) another about their love for each other. As is often the case between brothers (and men, in general), this love is expressed in indirect and surprising ways.
What’s exhilarating about THE FIGHTER is how it respects its characters, never passing judgment on them. Dicky Eklund indeed starts out as a inveterate crack-smoker, and neither the script nor Christian Bale flinch in portraying the character as someone who wandered very far away from the right path. There are scenes where it’s simply painful to look at Dicky and the squalor his life has become. Because of this, we actually understand Charlene’s belief that Micky needs to get as far away from his brother as possible.
But Dicky is a far more complicated and noble character than anyone gives him credit for. And you can almost feel the moment when you know THE FIGHTER is going to transcend being a spectacular film to becoming an excellent one: it’s the scene where Dickie, fresh out of jail, runs into his old crackhead friends - and is yet again faced with two paths: join them on the easy one of getting high, or take the much more difficult that will eventually redeem him. The way Bale plays this scene, without a single word, is the reason why he will win the Best Supporting Actor award on February 29.
In the role of Micky Ward, Mark Wahlberg has the less showy role, but he sells it with a mix of humility, charm, and unexpected fire. It also helps that he and Bale click as brothers, and complement one another quite well. Wahlberg’s Micky is like the stolid pole anchoring Dicky’s careening tether ball - until that roles are reversed, and Micky finds himself the one needing anchoring, and Dicky is the unlikely anchor who saves him. And that’s what so great about not just Micky and Dicky, but everyone else in the film: their complexity - they’re like prisms always changing depending on the light.
As the two major female characters in THE FIGHTER, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo are dynamite. Adams takes what could have been your typical “Feisty Working-Class Love Interest” role in the hands of a lesser actress - and makes it into something special. This is a girl who suffers no fools gladly, and would level a battle field to protect her man - but she’s not above admitting when she’s made a mistake. Watch for the scene where Dicky confronts Charlene on her porch in a last-ditch effort to get her to believe that he wants to go clean and help Micky. Without saying a word, Adams conveys Charlene’s journey from disbelieving, to doubtful, then to cautious - and finally to grudgingly believing Dicky’s impassioned pleas. All through her expressions only. By the time she says her one line - “I’ll see you in Micky’s corner” - you just want to hug her.
Equally terrific is the enormously talented Melissa Leo as Micky and Dicky’s hard-nosed but loving mother. When THE FIGHTER starts, Alice seems to be a modern-day blue-collar version of Lady Macbeth - ruthlessly manipulating her loved ones to get what she want. But, as the story progresses, we catch glimpses of her other, more tender sides which stand in stark contrast to her cutthroat tendencies. None of these traits cancel each other out, but rather serve to illustrate a complicated woman who’s had to fight her way in man’s world and make sacrifices - but has not lost her capacity to be a caring mother in the process. Watch for the scene in the car with Alice and Dicky, where Alice has to wrestle against her feelings for her son - but loses. It’s a heartbreaker that reveals this tough woman’s softer side.
In the end, THE FIGHTER is an unforgettable valentine to brotherly love, as well as to the risk - and reward - of fighting for your dreams. The film’s themes can be captured in a single shot and line of dialogue. At the climactic match in London, right before the final round, Dicky presses his forehead against Micky’s and says:
DICKY: This is your time. I had my time. And I blew it. You don’t have to. Because you’re Micky Ward. You are Micky Ward.
The journey that Dicky Eklund takes to be able to say that to his brother Micky is what makes THE FIGHTER a classic. The fact it’s based on a true story makes it even more special…
