Staff Writer

The Fighter is about exactly that; fighting. And not just boxing, but fighting between family, fighting between brothers, fighting between lovers, and fighting against addiction.

The film tells the story of half brothers Dickey Eklund and Mickey Ward. Dickey Eklund (played by Christian Bale) is a struggling crack addict who lives with the past glory of having defeated Sugar Ray Leonard once in the ring. Meanwhile Mickey Ward (played by Mark Wahlberg) is an up and coming boxer himself. His career however is struggles to take off however thanks to his crack addict brother, who acts as his trainer and taught him everything he knows, and his mother who acts as his manager but puts Dickey and the rest of the family first.

The film takes place mostly in the brothers home town of Lowell, Massachusetts and the setting has that hard working Irish feel too it. The film’s overall gold tones in the scenes with Lowell contrast with the fight’s scene’s pitch black arena. It helps center the viewer on the action: on the relationships inside of Lowell and on the action inside the ring. Beyond that the film also uses the actual gym where Ward actually trained. His trainer in real life also plays himself, adding to the authenticity.

While all of the films performances are top notch, special note should go out to Bale and Amy Adams (who plays Mickey’s girlfriend Charlene Fleming). Bale’s first appearance on screen is shocking; Bale lost weight for the role and looks like a ghost throughout the film. Including his crack addiction and mannerisms (which shown at the end of the film are dead on with the real Dickey Eklund), Bale’s performance is almost frightening to watch. Adams on the other hand is highly entertaining; providing Mickey with the back bone, take no prisoners attitude he lacks, her tough girl performance is as hard hitting and enjoyable as Mickey’s real fights.

Fights which are phenomenal as well; having trained for five years for the film, Wahlberg looks it. Every inch of his body is covered with muscle, and he shows it off in the ring. The fights themselves were choreographed after Mickey Ward’s actual fights; the scenes were also shot with the same type of camera that was used for covering such fights back in the late 90’s, giving them an overall authentic feel. On top of all that, Wahlberg takes every punch thrown at him in all of the film’s fights; by the end of the film’s first fight, Wahlberg looks as bad as he must feel. The viewer will just watch the fights and wonder how the fighters go through with it.

The ring is where the least of the action occurs ironically. Inside Lowell, the relationships of Ward and his family come into play. Ward’s mother (Melissa Leo) acts as Ward’s manager, caught up in Dickey’s former glory. Dickey, Ward’s trainer since they were kids, spends more time in a crack house than at the gym with Mickey. And all the meanwhile Ward struggles with putting himself before family. The greatest fights occur between these characters, not between the fighters.

The fighter isn’t just built on its scenes with the ring. It’s built upon its characters and how they work with each other. The audience will find themselves more interested and more involved in the screams and tears of a family pulling themselves together than any punch inside the ring.

Rating: MUST SEE