"Southpaw"

Title: Southpaw 
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Writer: Kurt Sutter
Category: Action, Drama, Sport
Duration: 124 min
Rate: 

Even though this is not the kind of movie that I would choose to watch, since the trailer was released, I was instantly intrigued by the story told in Southpaw.

I am not a huge fan of boxing films, however, I already knew that instead of making it a movie in which the focal points are the fights and Hope's career, Sutter wrote a story about how family and its support are the two most important things in everyone's life.

In many ways, in this film, boxing becomes an allegory of having the strength to fight one's life's demons and how family is the only help necessary to win.

Sutter's signature is evident throughout the film. Being a fan of his tv show and masterpiece Sons of Anarchy, I recognised his mark in the small details of each character, from the hero to the villain, and most importantly in the way in which he made the plot evolved until the end.

Jack Gyllenhaal gave a stellar performance. He became Billy Hope both in the way he moved and in the way he talked. He gave his best during the scenes with his daughter, making them intense and filled with raw emotions, as well as in the lowest point of Hope's life.

Even though boxing as a sport is always present in the movie, both as a glamorous and harsh world that can give you all and also bring you to your knees when you are not enough anymore, it becomes just a metaphor to highlight what really matters in life. It's not money, or fame or how big your house is. It is the people that are in your life that make life itself worth living and fighting for.

Apart for some performances that weren't that poignant, especially 50 Cent's, the cast ensemble gave great support to Gyllenhaal's work, aiding him in bringing to life Billy Hope and making his character more believable. Rachel McAdams exhibited once again her raw talent in perfectly identifying herself with her characters, bringing to the screen a truthful performance and Forest Whitaker complimented Gyllenhaal work without overshadowing him throughout the movie.

Fuqua's cinematography, even if at times was too messy, especially when the camera takes the place of one of the characters during the final fight, is an asset to make the message come across more vividly. The close ups concentrated on the facial expressions of the characters assist the script and the performance brilliantly in making the point of the story more intense.

All in all, Southpaw was a pleasant surprise because it can be considered a movie that doesn't merely tells the story of  a boxer wrestling to keep his career, it tells the story of a fighter ferociously battling not just for fame but to make his family proud and provide for them.

Till next time,

Fred.

Here the trailer: