Powerful plot

Based on a true story, David O Russell’s The Fighter is an ideal mix of family drama and action

HOllywood has a way of regurgitating genres and it is back to the thudding of gloves; and the blood and thunder sport is back after decades. Guess it was the 1980s, when Robert De Niro put on 30-odd pounds to play the latter-day Jake La Motta in Raging Bull, and that surely was carrying realism to ridiculous, unhealthy lengths. But De Niro didn’t get typecast like Sylvester "Sly" Stallone, who played the "Rocky’s" later on, though one has lost count of the number of sequels.

Now, after some respite, we have The Fighter, based on a true life story, but thankfully the film has less of action (no, spraying of perspiration and FX heavy) and more of story , the credit for which goes to scriptwriters Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and others.

Basically, it is a powerful family drama set in the United States with the Irish immigrant Ward family at the centrestage. And what a starkly eccentric family it is. The matriarch is Alice (Melissa Leo), who is a self-professed manager to her elder boxing son Dicky (Christian Bale), whose greatest achievement is beating middle-weight champ Sugar Ray Leonard but who, because of his boxing escapades in real life, is now a convict.

Dicky, however, is bent on training his younger and more sensible brother "Irish" Micky (Mark Wahlberg). Dad George (Jack McGee) is more inclined to see reason and have Micky employ a new manager but the vixenish Alice will have none of it, who uses her husband as target for flying saucers and dishes, reminiscent of Maggie in the comic strip Bringing Up Father.

What’s more, she has the whole-hearted support of her seven daughters, who worship the ground she treads on and act as the well-known Greek chorus.

So, when Micky, confused by this female-dominated set up, meets and falls in love with simple bargirl Charlene (Amy Adams), it is time for sparks to fly.

It is rather a wide canvas and just as well because it will go down well with non-boxing buffs. And this seems to be the main thrust of director David O Russell.

The action is all of 110 minutes but an ideal mix of family drama and action allows for attention span being looked after. Firstly, the psychological aspect is adroitly handled. Micky’s sense of alienation is convincing and so is his attraction for the bargirl, who gives him a fresh perspective in life. The chemistry is well handled but can he win against Irish family love?

No prizes for guessing correctly, but it is the strong narrative that comes across. Dicky’s erratic behaviour, too, comes across strongly as does his bond with his domineering mother. Little wonder, then, that both of them Christian Bale and Melissa Leo walked with the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress Oscars recently. Not that the other key players are mere ornamental. The handsome Mark Wahlberg is convincing as usual and Amy Adams does full justice to her cameo role.

Cinematographer Hoyle Van Hoytemer has enough scope to show his talent and Pamela Master’s editing is terse, which surely helps in a film of this length. Well worth a dekko, getting an insight into this weird Irish family will surely be a rare experience, let alone the boxing.

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