Punch

I loved this movie. "Punch" isn't easy to watch (especially for those of us who live with a teenage daughter of our own!), but it is worth the effort. What an interesting film.

It is well-acted across the board. The dialogue is tight, hard, funny, rude -- and then moving and lovely. (It is worth seeing twice just for Michael Riley's beautiful monologue on how he met Ariel's mother.)

Sonja Bennett is scary as the angry teen protagonist. Utterly unlikable - what a huge risk for a young actress. Bravo to her. Michael Riley is perfect as the Dad. I also loved Marcia Laskowski's performance of Mary - a highly believable, likable, attractive woman somewhere in her thirties. I enjoyed seeing a romantic lead who looked like someone I might actually meet somehwere - someone real. Vincent Gale is - as always - incredible as the complex bartender. And Katherine Kirkpatrick simply rocks as Beth the big boxer. Meredith McGeachie is also impressive as "Julie the Beauty".

It's hard to say more without giving stuff away, which I don't want to do, because I hope that lots of peole get to see this movie.

Punch is a risky Canadian drama that explores an emotionally incestuous relationship between a father and daughter. It also introduces us to the world of Topless Female Boxers, but more about that later.

Newcomer Sonya Bennett is the teenaged Ariel, a rebellious young girl being raised by her single parent father (Michael Riley). When he brings home a woman he is dating Ariel feels betrayed and punches the woman in the face, giving her a black eye. Enter the aforementioned Topless Female Boxer (Meredith McGeachie). She is the tough, lesbian sister of the wronged women, and comes to extract an apology from Ariel and her father.

It all sounds very `Jerry Springer,' and to a degree it is - the topless boxing angle is pure titillation - but there is some substance here. Director and screenwriter Guy Bennett introduces many interesting human drama elements to Ariel's coming-of-age story, but frustratingly fails to fully explore any of them. He hints at things that are daring and unusual, but then backs away from the difficult material. At its core Punch delves into the pain of finding the right emotional distance between yourself and those whom you love, but the message is muddied by too many plot twists. The topless boxing is very, uh. visual and will probably put some bums in the seats but unnecessarily clogs up the story.

Sonya Bennett sizzles as the audacious daughter, while Riley subtly conveys the turmoil the father feels as a respectable man who realizes that his relationship with his daughter is tainted.

This is Guy Bennett's first film and there are enough indications in this movie of someone who really knows how to direct actors and is willing to take interesting risks as a screenwriter to make lead one to think that while Punch isn't quite there, it'll be interesting to see what this guy will do next.

My comment to my wife when we were watching this was: "This looks like a Hal Hartley movie, but everyone is a lot meaner than they usually are in his films."

Punch is an interesting exploration of issues surrounding codependent family relationships, honor, and the exciting word of topless women's boxing.

Early in the film, I found almost all of the characters to be somewhat excessive in their violence, stunted emotions and knee-jerk reactions to the world around them. More depth was revealed toward the end, but in a somewhat heavy-handed way. Despite this, I think Punch offers something a little different than the usual fare, at least for viewers in the U.S. (It is possible that Canadians may be used to slightly more contemplative works.) If you don't mind watching your characters develop all of the way through the film (some of the exposition takes quite a while), or are willing to pass the intervening time watching topless women's boxing, you might find it worthwhile.

I really enjoyed this movie. The characters draw you in. I was intrigued from the beginning. The characters are very well written. I was surprised by the complexity of the female characters. Women can be very hard to understand. I loved how complex the female characters were. Especially because they are so rare to see. The daughter is very well written. Julie the Beauty could benefit from more character development. Extremely well acted. KUDOS to all involved. I would have sworn this was written by a female. Excellent. I liked all the female characters and felt the tortured existence of the male "dad" lead. Great flick. Even my non film-minded Pakistani husband enjoyed it.

Despite the topless female boxing (which was tough to watch, not sexy - sorry!), this might be more of a women's film than a boy flick. I think it is about people progressing on the path to healthy and happiness. It's a Canadian movie (defnitely not Hollywood!), so no-one achieves nirvana by the end of this interesting 90-minute ride.

The acting is stand-out. The writing is crisp. And in a dark way, it is funny.

I like this movie. And it is safe to take your boyfrined, because there is indeed the topless boxing.