Review: Southpaw

Boxer Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal), a former Hell’s Kitchen orphan turned undefeated Light Heavyweight boxing champion with a loving wife (Rachel McAdams) and 11 year-old daughter (Oona Laurence). McAdams worries that due to Billy’s penchant for taking a lot of damage on the way to victory, that her little girl won’t have her daddy around for very much longer. His manager (Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson) however, wants to keep striking while the iron is hot, and although they’re friends of-sorts, seemingly has little concern for Billy’s health or longevity. One night, Billy’s sour and antagonistic opponent and his hangers on cause a scene which results in a devastating personal tragedy for Billy. He becomes embittered, self-destructive, and ultimately strapped for cash after his behaviour sees him barred from fighting for a year and his previously extravagant spending catches up with him. Heartbreakingly, he loses custody of his beloved daughter, who feels abandoned by him. Visiting the gym of trainer Tick Wills (Forest Whitaker), he slowly begins to rebuild himself, his life, and his career all in an attempt to win back his daughter and his soul. However, when his old manager turns up looking to book a fight between Billy and the man who for all intents and purposes helped him on his path of self-destruction, Tick wonders if Billy is doing this for the right reasons or if he’s simply looking for revenge. Naomie Harris plays a Child Protective Services worker, whilst R&B pop tart Rita Ora briefly appears as a pathetic junkie.

 

Proof that with great acting and absolute sincerity, it doesn’t matter if the story is as old as the hills. This 2015 boxing drama from director Antoine Fuqua (The adequate cop dramas “Training Day” and “Brooklyn’s Finest”, the pathetic “King Arthur” and “Tears of the Sun”) and screenwriter Kurt Sutter (the creator of TV’s “Sons of Anarchy”) is for my mind the best boxing movie since “Rocky III”. Whatever you may think of that sequel, the point is it was made in 1982. That’s a long, long time to go without a really memorable boxing movie. I think the bulk of that is because of the main character and lead performance by Jake Gyllenhaal, who for some bizarre reason continues to be a greatly underrated actor. There’s an emotional resonance here that a lot of these films simply don’t have. In fact, it’s almost hard to watch at times, and I’m not talking about the boxing scenes. This guy clearly loves his daughter, clearly grieves for his wife. When tragedy strikes, he’s a total wreck. I’ve seen some downward spirals in my time, but this one takes the cake. He knocks a referee the fuck out. I cared more about this guy than any other movie boxer since Rocky Balboa. Give us a character we care about, an actor with a helluva lot of talent, and the audience will swallow any amount of clichés you bother to throw at them. I bought into it big-time.

 

This is very much Jake Gyllenhaal’s film, and it looks like he’s gotten into total ‘method’ shape here, he’s Yuri Boyka-ripped. However, what I was most impressed with was that he flawlessly plays the character. He’s playing what is a far less articulate guy than the actor really is. It doesn’t even sound like Jake Gyllenhaal here a lot of the time, and he has a totally different body language than usual. He manages to make it so organic that it’s like he’s in another person’s skin, which should probably be the point I guess, but Gyllenhaal does it masterfully well. I was really only able to recognise the actor because I was deliberately looking closely. Gyllenhaal is a truly heart-breaking blend of Jake LaMotta and Rocky Balboa, but with his own spin on things as well. It’s interesting that the character trains to be a different style of fighter, because his regular style is terrible for his soul and will only lead to more problems. He needs to adopt a new style, and it’s actually one that his wife probably would’ve appreciated more, which is really touching when you think about it. Rachel McAdams doesn’t disappear into her character quite the way Gyllenhaal does, but it’s easily one of her best-ever performances. Sure, it’s basically the same kind of thing Amy Adams did in “The Fighter”, but McAdams undeniably does it well. When it’s his wont, Forest Whitaker is an excellent and usually very likeable character actor. This is one of those occasions, he’s excellent in an admittedly corny role. I also thought Naomie Harris’ CPS worker was as clichéd as hell, especially when she watches the big fight. However, when you think about it, it’s somewhat plausible for her character to be present, so I bought it and Harris is lovely as always. In smaller roles, although I wouldn’t know a Rita Ora song if I fell over it, she’s quite fine, and a slick (if typically mumbly) 50 Cent is pitch-perfect casting as a slick, snaky manager.

 

If the film has any flaw, it’s that the main opponent is portrayed as basically being a close relative of Satan himself. That’s a little much, but honestly it’s such a minor flaw. One of the best boxing movies in years, and easily one of 2015’s best. Here’s a sports movie that makes you really care, and pretty much ignore some of the clichés that, in films with less compelling characters, would be all-too noticeable. It’s not always pleasant to watch (it may seem schmaltzy, but it ain’t “The Champ”, trust me), but Gyllenhaal is next-level amazing here in what is quite clearly Antoine Fuqua’s best film to date by a mile.

 

Rating: B