Southpaw

We can always criticize Hollywood for bringing movies that are intended to toss some smoke to the viewer by presenting something new with repeated formulas and recycled plots we have seen somewhere else before. The same goes for "Southpaw"... apart from the fact that there's something more lying inside this story about a boxer's redemption. The answer to it is the trust it puts into the strength of its actors and the gripping emotions that come with it.

There's a little sparkle that starts to light up inside of us during the very first minutes of the movie. And even if we barely have the time to see Gyllenhaal and McAdams' characters, we didn't need more because we were instantly dragged towards an emotional charge that never abandons the plot and whose "legacy" is carried on the main actor's shoulders.

Gyllenhaal doesn't skip a beat and keeps his character's pain and rage constantly vivid in every detail - we feel it because we've somewhat experienced in our lives what it means to lose someone we love and feel lost afterward. We felt the struggle coming after the loss of a bond as strong as that one. That's why his performance is relentless and immaculate.

Truth is that the genuine side of "Southpaw"'s plot is based on the main character's fall and his irreproachable route to stand up again, reach the top once more. Only this time, the fight has completely changed and the goals are different, goals that make us question what we really fight for in our life.

You already know this story but not told under these terms. Hollywood has crafted good flicks about fighters/boxers in the last few years and "Southpaw" follows a line that is close to the more recent "Warrior", starring Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy due to its "underdog" screenplay. What makes this movie different from the rest is the ineluctable emotion that never departs and befalls us, stirring and stirring our inner feelings.

We don't always need to criticize a movie for its predictability. "Southpaw" is predictable but it's also honest in assuming itself as such because its purpose - and I believe, Antoine Fuqua's purpose - is to divert our attention towards something more meaningful. And when a movie pierces the bone to reach our heart and soul with this impact, then it deserves our respect and acknowledgment.

"Southpaw" is, quite simply, liberating.

Billy Hope is the light heavyweight champion of the world with a 43-0 record. One day, as a result of his uncontrollable violent temper, tragedy after tragedy hits him and his family until he is left with nothing -- not his fortune, not his career, not his family. Despondent and desperate to get his life back, Billy swallows his pride and seeks the assistance of trainer Tick Wills to train him back to fighting form.

"Southpaw" is an acting showcase for its lead actor Jake Gyllenhaal. Last year in the film "Nightcrawler", Gyllenhaal gave us all the creeps with his very realistic portrayal of sociopathic pseudo-video journalist Louis Bloom. He was overlooked at the Oscars of the Best Actor nomination he clearly deserved. With this meaty role, Gyllenhaal set out to prove that that his transformative performance last year was not a fluke at all.

His performance here as Billy Hope is another triumph of his very serious and committed method acting style. Here, Gyllenhaal again undergoes a total physical transformation into a grizzled prizefighter with a buff hardened physique, scarred face and swollen eye. We feel every ache of his weary body as he shuffles in his gait. His speech is already slurred with probable nerve damage. We see and sense the ravages of his vicious sport on him.

He captured the character of an impulsive man who was not too savvy in life, and easily driven to violently angry tendencies. As Billy's world collapses around him, Gyllenhaal brings us all down to his hell with him. We totally see the unraveling of a man until a mere shadow of him remained. Then we would witness how he humbles himself as he tries to bring the shattered pieces of his life back together again. This was in addition to all the pounding he had in the boxing ring itself. This was truly an acting tour de force by Gyllenhaal which simply cannot be ignored.

The actors in supporting roles all share in Gyllenhaal's shine. Despite her name being so prominent in the poster, Rachel McAdams appeared on screen only for a very short time. In that limited time, we clearly see the effect of her strong character Maureen on her husband Billy. Bespectacled little Oona Laurence plays their spirited daughter Leila. Gyllenhaal and Laurence share some pretty intensely emotional scenes together.

Forest Whitaker plays Tick Wills, the tough disciplinarian of a trainer whom Billy chose to bring him back on track. I thought it was clever how they even include Whitaker's left eye into the story. Curtis "50 Cent" Smith plays Billy's fair-weather manager Jordan Mains. He really has this sleazy vibe about him with his flashy smile and shiny suits.

Director Antoine Fuqua effectively wrung all the right emotions out of this story. The storytelling is well-paced and the camera work is compelling. The fight scenes were well-choreographed and executed on screen -- very brutal, bloody, all with high tension. The first person point of view during the fights puts you right in the midst of all the action.

The musical score contributes so much to the drama of this film. This is also the last film James Horner scored before his untimely demise in a plane crash recently. We also hear Eminem rap in the soundtrack. It is interesting to note that Eminem was actually the original choice to play Billy Hope.

Boxing is a common sport tackled in movies because of its inherent drama. "Rocky", "Raging Bull", "Million Dollar Baby" and "The Fighter" easily come to mind as among the best of them ever made. This is why we may feel we have seen this story In "Southpaw" told in another way before. However, the grippingly honest acting of Jake Gyllenhaal definitely set this film apart from others. He made "Southpaw" a most extraordinary boxing film to watch. 8/10.

Review: I quite enjoyed this emotional movie and I definitely think that Jake Gyllenhaal should be up for an Oscar for his amazing transformation. The storyline did seem to drag after a while but I couldn't wait for the big showdown at the end. Anyway, Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) seems to have it all, with his big mansion, beautiful wife and loving daughter, and when the lightweight boxer wins all of the championship belts, life really can't get any better for this man who struggled through his childhood. He then gets invited to a charity event were he gives a speech about his life and his love for his wife, Maureen Hope (Rachel McAdams) but his whole life changes when a gun is fired during a punch up with his arch-rival, Miguel "Magic" Escobar (Miguel Gomez). The shot, mistakingly hits his wife, who dies on the spot, which leaves a distraught Billy Hope, to bring up his daughter Leila Hope (Oona Laurence). Whilst trying to defend his title, he basically gives up fighting against his opponent and he ends up head-butting the referee out of shear frustration. Now that he's lost his title, it defaults a 3 fight deal that he has with a television company and he's being sued for the head-butting incident. With his debts piling up and his boxing career in tatters, he turns to drink and drugs for comfort and the depression from losing his wife, starts to take its toll. He then ends up in hospital after crashing his car into a tree, so the child protection agency are brought in, because they found drink and drugs in his body while he was driving. A judge decides to put Leila into care while Billy sorts his life out, so he sells his house to clear up his debts and he gets a job in a gym, which he also uses to train. After much persuasion, he manages to get the gym owner, Tick Wills (Forest Whitaker) to train him in his own unique way, which will improve his boxing skills but his daughter refuses to see him because she blames him for being in care. He then gets a chance to box in a charity bash, we're he shows of his new boxing style and impresses his old manager, Jordan Mains (50 Cent), who is now managing Escobar. He offers him a chance to return to the big league by challenging Escobar to a championship bout but he only has 6 weeks to train and to get in shape. As he desperately needs the money to get his daughter back, he goes through some gruesome training with Tick and he manages to build a relationship with his daughter again. With his new trainer by his side and his daughter back in his life, he uses every muscle in his body to fight against the man who was involved in the murder of his wife. I really enjoyed the intensity during boxing fights and the emotional scenes with his daughter. Jakes anger issues were performed extremely well and the love that he had for his wife was really sweet, just like Rocky with Adrian but I did find it a bit predictable. Personally, I'm surprised that they didn't pick 50 Cent to play the boxer because of his physique and hard man mentality! Anyway, I enjoyed this movie and the hero to zero to hero again, concept was well put together by the director. Enjoyable!

Round-Up: Although the critics had great things to say about this film, when it was released, it's still not the type of film that you can watch time and time again like the early Rocky movies. Its not that it isn't a quality film, it's just that it's not a feel good movie were you start punching the air when you come out of the cinema. The personal issues that Jake's character is going through are extremely deep and you do have to be in the right mood to watch it. With that aside, the performances are top class from the whole cast, especially Jake Gyllenhaal, 34, who really hit the mainstream in 2001, when he starred in Donnie Darko. Since then, he has covered many genres in movies like the big budget The Day After Tomorrow, Jarhead, Brokeback Mountain, Rendition, Zodiac, Brothers, Prince of Persia, Love & Other Drugs, Source Code, the brilliant End of Watch, Prisoners, Enemy and Nightcrawlers. With Everest and Demolition due to be released soon and 5 movies in the pipeline which includes the Current War with Benedict Cumberbatch and Okja with Bill Nighy and Tilda Swinton, he really has proved that he can completely transform his acting style, like he did in this film and in End of Watch. Anyway, this movie was directed by Antoine Fuqua, 49, who has quite a impressive portfolio to date. Titles to his name include, the Replacement Killers, Bait with Jamie Foxx, Training Day, Tears of the Sun with Bruce Willis, King Arthur with Clive Owen and Kiera Knightley, Shooter with Mark Wahlberg, Brooklyn's Finest, Olympus Must Fall and the Equalizer. Judging by his previous movies, it's not surprising how committed Antoine was, to this project and I must admit, the boxing scenes did seem extremely real. He also got the best out of Gyllenhaal, so I have to give him props for making a memorable film which touched many emotional heart strings.

Budget: $30million Worldwide Gross: $91million

I recommend this movie to people who are into their action/drama/sports movies starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, Forest Whitaker, 50 Cent and Naomie Harris. 7/10

Southpaw is a drama/sports film directed by Antoine Fuqua and stars Jake Gyllenhaal. Although clichéd, the way the story of this film is told is what makes it great. The acting was great throughout the film especially by Gyllenhaal and ,surprisingly, Oona Laurence was fantastic. The film was well directed. Especially the boxing scenes themselves were shot very well and did a good job of really putting you in the shoes of the fighters. The dramatic scenes were done very well but we're very dark and depressing. This is not a light hearted film by any means. It deals with very sad subjects and is very gritty. On the negative side of things there is not much to say. It was well paced, well directed, and very well acted by everyone. It earns a solid 8/10.

The first 45 minutes are basically Murphy's law for the protagonist: everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. But you it's also true that when you've hit rock bottom, the only way is up. What follows still isn't predictable here, but takes a lot of effort, sweat and tears. Once the film is over, you realize it played you with the conventions of the sports drama you've seen a few times before. But while you're in it, you're on the edge of the seat and feel for this deeply flawed man and his adorable daughter. That's no small feat. Director Fuqua could rely on an incredibly strong cast, especially Gyllenhaal, delivering one of the best performances of his career.