The Fighter

For the last few months, I've been all about two particular performances, both from The Social Network. First, there is Jesse Eisenberg who I thought gave the best performance of the entire year. Then, there is Andrew Garfield who I thought was the Best Supporting Actor of the entire year. Now, they have both been replaced by one man - Christian Bale from The Fighter. His Dicky Eklund is so manic, so nuanced, so charming, in a word sort of way. Not only does he steal the entire movie, but also it is his best performance and the best performance of the year. More about that later.
The Figther, directed by David O. Russell, is the true story of welterweight fighter Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) who is from Lowell, Massachusetts. Lowell, like most movies set in and around Boston, is a character of its own. The city is alive with the working class people who just want something good to come from their city. But they are also quick to turn their backs on disappointments and failures. It's a small town mentality, where everyone knows everyone else's business. Micky has been boxing for a few years, trying to get the right fight to break through in boxing. He's managed by his stage mom (Melissa Leo) whose M.O. is to kill her kids with a sort of suffocating love. He's being trained by his "retired" brother Dicky. Dicky is the current pride of Lowell. An ex-boxer, he gained notoriety when he knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard some years ago (but did Sugar Ray really just trip and fall??). Now, HBO is following Dicky around making a documentary, which Dicky thinks is about his comeback. In reality, it's about his failure and crack addiction. Micky, who also has a half a dozen sisters, each ones hair bigger than the last, falls in love with Charlene (Amy Adams), a tough as nails bartender who is the only person who can stand up to Micky's mom and his crazy sisters.
The Fighter is a sports movie, but only really in the last third. The first two-thirds of the movie is all about character development. It's all about Micky and the decision he has to make between his overbearing family and his desire to become a prize fighter. Can he strike a balance and become a champion with his family? Or does he have to step out on his own, leave his family and their drama behind, to become a winner? That's the fine line Micky has to walk in the film.
The performances are all amazing here (right down to Micky's crazy sisters, who have great comedic timing to deliver all their one liners, usually putting down Charlene). Leo is perfection as the overbearing, tough mom. Adams is even better, showing off a tough side of her own. She's been so cutesy so often that it's nice to get a reminder of what a truly great actress she really is. Then there is Wahlberg, who is damn good in his own right. He's part shy, part determined with an explosive side. I've never been a fan of his in dramas, really (exception: The Departed). I've always thought he was a way better comedy actor than anyone gave him credit for (see: I Heart Huckabees). But, he is truly impressive here, giving a layered, lovely performance. But the best performance, of course, goes to Bale. He is a crazy method actor and for once it comes to fruition. He is all manic energy, sucking the air out of every room he walks into, demanding everyone's attention. You think he's about one moment from turning absolutely batshit crazy. Then they show the real Dicky at the end of the film, with all his ticks and eyes bugging out, and you realize even more how perfectly Bale embodied him. I'm all about Bale winning Best Supporting Actor at the upcoming Oscars!
Grade: B+