REVIEW: Wahlberg, Not Bale, Is the One to Watch in The Fighter
But this is a case of actors' condescending to their characters instead of just playing them, something Wahlberg and Adams never do. Russell, working from a script by Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson (from a story by Tamasy, Johnson and Keith Dorrington), appears to have forgotten everything he knew about crisp shaping and sharp storytelling circa Three Kings in 1999. The Fighter is far more naturalistic than either that movie or the dismal one that followed it (the 2004 I Heart Huckabees); it seems Russell wanted to head in a completely different direction, but he's not sure what do in this new territory.
He does get some of the time-and-place details right. Micky and Dicky have a dozen or so surly, doughnut-shaped sisters with overprocessed hair (Alice has burned through at least one husband over the years), and they scowl through the proceedings like a Greek chorus in acid-wash jeans. These women -- played by an assortment of scarily well-cast and well-costumed actresses -- resent Charlene for the hold she has on Micky. (Mostly, they seem to hate her because she had the nerve to complete a few semesters of college.) At the peak of their anger, they set out to ambush Charlene at her house, clomping onto her porch in their chunky white sneakers and Payless skimmers, spoiling for a bout of wicked-pissa hair-pulling. Whatever the other flaws of The Fighter may be, nothing captures the flavor of Lowell, circa 1993, better than this clan of bully babes.
But Russell doesn't seem to know how or when to ratchet down the broadness. Leo, with her big, frosty hair and doorknocker earrings, chomps down on her character and won't let go: She shakes it with a pit bull's conviction, until there's no possibility of life left in it. And while Bale's performance is being highly praised in certain circles -- at their recent Black Mass, the National Board of Review anointed him Best Supporting Actor -- it's mannered in the worst way. Bale reportedly lost some 30 pounds to play the role (he pulled off a similar stunt for The Machinist), but that's not acting -- it's weight loss. He loads his performance with excessive screwball tics and twitches -- he's clearly studied this crackhead stuff -- and it adds up to a nice, tall toothpick-tower of technique. Here Bale, sometimes a marvelous actor, shows everything he knows instead of simply allowing it to run silently in the background.
It doesn't help that Russell and his cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema (also the DP behind Let the Right One In) shoot the movie's fights indistinctly, chopping them into bits so we can't clearly see the action. They also overuse hand-held cameras, often roving from character to character instead of cutting. The camera seems to be absent-mindedly looking for something, but what? It's the filmmaking equivalent of idly searching for change in the crevices of a couch.
And in between all this, Wahlberg is characteristically laid-back and believable -- he plays a guy aching to break out, and yet he never breaks a sweat. Wahlberg, for all his brawn, is very much an interior actor, to the extent that it sometimes looks as if he's doing nothing -- here, he underplays everything, skimming along just beneath the movie's surface, slipping right past Leo and Bale and their outsized gestures. Adams is a great foil for him: She's shed some of her exhausting perkiness and replaced it with take-no-prisoners flintiness.
But both of these actors are underserved by the story's unsatisfying, lumpy dramatic shape. The movie's ending is presented as a triumph, and it doesn't sit right: Everything that's led up to it shows us that Micky stands to be trapped by his family, not bolstered by it. And when Micky finally accepts that largely figurative but also somewhat literal group hug, Russell presents it as a moment of happiness and acceptance. The Fighter becomes, strangely, a feel-good story with a happy ending, even though in the story's terms, Micky has been beaten into submission by the wrong opponent -- his own flesh and blood.
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If I wanted to see a crackhead, I could just drive down H ollywood Blvd. and do it for free. Don't expect folks to line up for this, as the new house speaker would say, chickencrap.
"...it adds up to a nice, tall toothpick-tower of technique."
Stephanie, you are awesome! This review confirms my worst fears about this movie - though with the admittedly annoying caveat that it might still be worth seeing for Mark Wahlberg's performance.
Finally, Stephanie, when is your Best of 2010 list out? Can't wait...
This is unbelievable , totally BS. this movie is totally crap and how could the writers, producers and Mark Wahlberg forget about Arturo Gatti. Micky Ward doesn't exist if it would not have been for Arturo Gatti. Extremly disappointed.
I cannot believe Ward accepted such film about his life and career.
if you wanted to see a crackhead you would just drive down hollywood blvd? seriously? does anyone even watch movies now or do they just read reviews and follow what other people say? i mean i could understand hating on a movie you saw and having a valuable argument like the reviewer does. wow
Couldn't disagree more with this review. I saw "The Fighter" at a press screening a few weeks ago, and I think it's easily one of the best films of the year. I keep waiting for another Oscar-bait film to have the same powerful effect on me, but so far "The Fighter" is in a class of its own. And seriously: a 5 1/2 for this but a friggin' 9 for "The Tourist"? One Armond White in the world is already one too many, Stephanie.
Also, Zacharek is inexplicably punishing the movie for accurately telling a real-life story. Micky did reconcile with his family. And while I was also hoping Micky would cut them out for good (for dramatic purposes, if nothing else), I ultimately admire this film for telling the story of one family doing the hard work of reconciliation after many years of seriously grievous circumstances. It would have been easier to tell a story about a man severing all his ties to his family and leaving them severed, but it's far more complex and rewarding to show how those ties can be rebuilt. In that sense, this is one of the greatest and most unlikely "family" films I've ever seen.
This reviewer obviously doesn't understand big families. No matter how disfunctional, counter-productive and chaotic they are.....they are still his family....and there is still love (at least a form of it).... and he could never desert them...no matter the consequences.
His girlfriend taught him some perspective, and she taught him how to keep the family at arms-length.....but he grew up in a big, blue-collar, Irish Catholic family where the "code" says you never...ever...turn your back on family.
Clearly, the reviewer found Mickey Ward's family to be despicable and felt they should be punished....or at least banished from his life....and the reviewer blames the writters and directors for not giving him the satisfaction of watching the family get what they deserved. But there is a problem with that sentiment.......this movie is based on real people....and Mickey Ward has remained close to his family in real life.
It sounds like the reviewers biggest beef is with the way Mickey Ward chose to live his life.....maybe Mickey should have been more concerned with how his decisions would play on the Big Screen while he was living his life.
Just a little corrective for the all-knowing genius Stephanie: there's Youtube footage of the real Dicky Eklund which confirms that he actually is a motormouth, twitchy, nervous, bustling, high-energy chatterbox who does almost all the talking when sitting next to his quiet, soft-spoken brother Micky. Also, people who knew the real Alice confirm that Melissa Leo's portrayal is not an exaggeration; and the real woman was an even more extreme character.
It's also a fact, of course, that Stephanie regularly praises flamboyant, showy, "look at me!" acting when it suits her purposes. When she calls Melissa Leo's acting "cartoonishly coarse," the same could be said of Meryl Streep's performance as Julia Child in JULIE & JULIA, but of course Stephanie liked that movie, so suddenly "more is more," big-gestured, showy performance styles are a valid choice when they just happen to suit Stephanie's tastes. The same could be said of Angelina's starmaking turn in GIA or her Oscar-winning turn in GIRL, INTERRUPTED. Again, "look at me!" "more is more" showboating acting is just fine when Saint Angelina's the one doing it. Hypocrisy: thy name is Zacharek.
Congratulations to Stephanie for having the guts to call Bale and Leo on their effective but undeniably over-the-top performances and for praising Wahlberg for a marvelously layered turn which is bound to be underappreciated in the shadow of hambones like Bale and Leo. Adams and Wahlberg are the real heroes of this movie, but their kind of nuance usually goes unnoticed. Thanks, Stephanie, for noticing.
Hey "Chris," you're on thin ice. E-mail me; we need to talk before your comments will appear again. stva [at] movieline.com
I couldn't disagree more with this review. The movie was pitch-perfect, and it's odd that SZ takes issue with the fact that it's unrealistic or unsatisfying because the main character doesn't ditch his family. Actually, most people find that their family in some way keeps them down or challenges personal progess, yet the beauty and complexity of life is that that same family made you who you are, which is exactly what Micky is experiencing. The crux of it is balance, and how he is able to achieve success by balancing the legacy of his past with his ambitions for the future, as perfectly depicted in the fight where he trained with O'Keefe and his girlfriend, but he used the strategy that he learned from his brother to actually seal the deal. I always find SZ's reviews interesting, but I thought this one was really way off. See the film, it's excellent.
I too was annoyed by Bale's portrayal of Dickey, but when the end credits roll and you see the REAL dickey and mickey, you see that Bale's portrayal was spot-on. Also there is an online movie, "Crack Street" with Dickey and boy, he was wasted. Bale said he spent some days with Dickey to get the characterization down, and he got it.
I suggest that everybody see that Crack Street movie. Alice is in the documentary, and Melissa Leo IS Alice.
Also Steph, go back to the end credits. You will see that Mickey is the quiet one and Dickey is the clown.
The problem I had was Wahlberg, who was so quiet and understated, he was boring. No wonder the others acted circles around him. Wahlberg was like the paint on the wall in this movie. Just being physically in shape and boxing physically isn't enough. You have to bring the personality out.
As for the family, I can understand where Jim is coming from. This is an Irish family. Not a black family or Hispanic, but Irish, and they stick together.
Of course Wahlberg's character is completely overshadowed by the others... Micky Ward really was completely overshadowed by his family. His mother was incredibly overbearing and controlling, and his brother was one of the most famous kids in Lowell after his fight with Sugar Ray Leonard until Micky got his career going (under his brother's shadow). I suggest reading "Irish Thunder" if you want to understand the story before trying to pick it apart.
This is why I love SZ as a critic. I enjoyed 'The Fighter' a great deal, and thought it was a terrific movie. And yet I find myself having a tough time disagreeing with most of her points. Criticism as its best should make you think about storytelling in a deeper way, and agree or disagree with her, SZ's reviews do that.
Agree with every word. The minute I saw Leo & Bale (does Hollywood really have that much affection for arrogant, abusive, overrated "actors") push their way onto the screen, delivering the worst caricatures I've seen in years, I knew we were watching two performers salivating at the thought of snatching Oscars and other awards handed out for scenery chewing.
Bless the Baftas for recognising the best supporting performances of the year. I've only ever been interested in who gets nominated during award season but I've never wanted to see two nominees miss out so badly. Rush and Bonham-Carter (or Steinfeld) will hopefully benefit from a climate change in the final voting round.