Girlfight

"Girlfight" follows a project dwelling New York high school girl from a sense of futility into the world of amateur boxing where she finds self esteem, purpose, and much more. Although the film is not about boxing, boxing is all about the film. So much so you can almost smell the sweat. Technically and artistically a good shoot with an sense of honesty and reality about it, "Girlfight" is no chick flick and no "Rocky". It is, rather, a very human drama which even viewers who don't know boxing will be able to connect with.

Being a regular troublemaker at school, Diana starts to entertain the idea of learning to box properly like her brother is allowed to do. Knowing her father will never let her do it she steals the money from him and starts to train with Hector. Quickly improving in the ring despite the hoots of derision aimed at her from her fellow boxers, Diana finds problems with a lack of female opposition, love in the shape of another up and coming amateur and a conflict on the horizon with her father bound to find out sooner or later.

I'm not sure where I got the idea but for years I had the impression that this was a foreign indie film that had made a big impression and was critically praised. Mostly for these reasons I did really want to see it but never got round to it until it came onto television recently. By this point I had realized that it was an American movie with some indie aspirations but not the grit or adult content I had expected – anyway, this preconception was my fault so I put it out of my mind and settled to watch it. The story is a fairly straightforward tale of a teenage girl trying to cut an unusual path in her life, facing and overcoming obstacles along the way. In this regard it is all pretty standard stuff, although the boxing content made it more interesting for me. It is reasonably well written and brings in some themes of domestic violence, back story and so on, without ever really getting to grips with any of them that well.

However what makes the film much better than it could have been was the realistic, convincing and moody playing of newcomer (at the time) Michelle Rodriguez. At times she pushes it a bit too close to being a typical "whatever" teenager and loses our interest but for the most part we can see real heart in her character and she keeps us onside with just enough of a look inside her to keep caring. The direction is also good – matching Rodriguez down-to-earth performance by not playing up the boxing scenes or any other aspect of Diana's life. Support is good from Tirelli, Calderon, Douglas and Santiago to name a few and they hold the ground well for Rodriguez to stand out.

Overall this is not a great film, it is an enjoyable one but it rarely is more than par for the course in many areas. The script is OK but doesn't expand very well on the things it hints at, while the boxing scenes never get that exciting (although perhaps this is a strength). What makes it better than the sum of its parts though is a strong performance from Rodriguez delivering a down to earth performance that manages to be defensive and vulnerable at the same time, matched by a gritty tone to the direction throughout. Flawed and nothing special but its good points are enough to make it worth seeing.

Since adding my review of this movie way back when, I have been disappointed and surprised to see so many IMDb reviews that see "Girlfight" as a kind of feminist fantasy. Is everyone aware that there really are women prize-fighters, some of whom really are capable of beating the crap out of most men? What's so improbable about the final boy-girl match isn't that the girl wins, but that it's her boyfriend she has to fight. And the only feminist thing about the movie is that the women's movement is probably what made it possible to write it as a drama instead of as a comedy. But there is no feminist "message" in this movie.

I first saw Michelle Rodriguez in The Fast and The Furious, and was sad that her character wasnt given more to work with because it was a role that could have been a great addition to the film.

Just recently I saw her Girlfight which was the role that started and has so far highlighted her career. And to be honest I found it to be one of the best movies I have seen in the last couple years.

The movie is about a girl named Diana played by rodriguez who has alot of pent up anger about herself and her mother's death. So her life at school is spent mostly by getting into fights, but that all changes when she visits her brother at a local boxing facility.

Soon its her and not her brother being the one trained, and through boxing she finds a way to release her anger, and find something to concentrate on. One of the things I found that I loved about the movie was that at the end not all of her problems were taken care of, just some of them. And her dreams are not realized but just taken a step further which is all she really wants.

But most of all it was Michelle's performance that made this movie the experience it is. Her character is REAL, and people aspiring to be actresses should watch her movie for pointers. She imbues her with the rage, and the full range of emotions that she shows through every scene. So watch it and love it 10/10

In most sports movies, you'll have the corny story of triumph and it might be not too great. But this film is different. It uses it's independent edge (it won numerous awards at the Sundance and Caanes film festivals) to not be cornball, but to a good achievement. Michelle Rodriguez definately makes an credible debut as the troubled and always angry Diana, who decides a way to get out some of her aggression is in boxing, and it works, even when she has to face her boyfriend in the (improbable to be sure) ring. Better than I thought, but the liability is that Diana is always angry (so angry that any regular girl's worst day of PMS is Diana's best day) and she does some things to her family and friends that are very questionable, method and emotion wise which almost makes her not the best girl to emmulate. Pretty good, never-the-less. B+