Jawbone

Imagine if you can that Mike Leigh or Ken Loach decided to do a boxing film then Jawbone wouldn't be too far away from they would come up with and that is by no means a criticism in fact I really liked this. This is the story of a former youth boxing champion Jimmy McCabe who, after hitting rock bottom, returns to his childhood boxing club and his old team, gym owner Bill and corner man Eddie but to make ends meet he agree to take an unlicensed fight against someone much bigger and younger than himself. This film is not so much about boxing but about the struggle against alcoholism. Johnny Harris is brilliant and the troubled fighter and genuinely looks like he can box. There isn't a bad performance in this film. Ray Winstone and Ian McShane do what they do best and Michael Smiley is great also. If I has to pick a hole in this film and believe me it's hard . its that the person they got to be Jimmy's opponent didn't look like he knew how to box despite being ripped. Overall though a very good film.

To those who know the struggle, the story of this fight is as plain as a boxing glove smacking the nose on your face. It is most definitely not a boxing story, but boxing is a main character.

Take everything you thought you knew about boxing movies ... and forget it.

Instead of a movie about someone looking to break into the sport, here is a movie about someone looking to break into Life, having wasted most of theirs. And boxing is all he knows.

It is a testament to the skill of the writer and director that, by the time the big fight arrives, you the audience don't have a clue how it will turn out. That by itself is an accomplishment.

Speaking of accomplishments, Harris hands us one of the most amazing performances I have ever seen. To re-use a tired cliché, he literally delivers most of his dialog in this film with his eyes.

And Winstone may possibly have delivered one of the most subtle and nuanced performances of his career, and makes max use of every second of screen time.

You could possibly say it is a modern update of Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962). Or you could simply call it what it is -- an extraordinary movie.

Recommended? Hell, yes.

((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

The story of a man down on his luck is as familiar as it gets. Boxing as a metaphor for human struggle and inner conflict is also very much tried and tested. So for star and writer of this redemption tale, Johnny Harris, to come up with something so endearingly heartfelt is a testament to the mans talent and ability.

I never write about a films plot, I only like to convey a sense of what the experience provided etc. This film will make you feel something; empathy, sadness, hope, pity - all the ingredients of a rock bottom and up film.

Yes, it's a boxing film. But that shouldn't deter viewers who don't enjoy the pugilistic genre or sport itself. This is a brilliantly written, produced and acted film that focuses on one man's incredibly bleak prospects and overcoming the insurmountable he has created for himself. A man who is proud yet lacking dignity and how he turns to the only vestige he knows in order to claw it back.

This is a no nonsense film that ticks every box you could hope for in an indie flick. Expertly directed by Thomas Napper it manages to avoid all the many tropes and hackneyed marks that most boxing films run into and leaves you feeling privileged to have seen it.

If you're expecting Rocky, toss those expectations in the bin. This is a film that has bathed itself in the grittiness often found in British cinema, then dressed in a suit of P10 sandpaper.

Although the plot is hardly a revalation, it is beautifully written and directed. Despite having big names like McShane and Winston, it is Johnny Harris who knocks it out of the park with an engaging and real performance.

Not for those after an easy watch, or balls to the wall action.