Total K-O

Wahlberg in Bale play stepbrothers Ward and Eklund

                It was March 15^th, 2008 and I was stuck somewhere in a roiling mosh pit of drunken, sweaty Dropkick Murphys fans. Fearing for my life, I valiantly managed to untangle myself from the mass of tattooed arms and Converse sneakers, emerging safely to a quiet spot on the floor just in time to see Micky Ward throw a killer left hook. The band, being Quincy locals, created a poetic shout out to their friend and supporter by showing footage of his fights all throughout the concert, set, of course, to their anthem "The Warrior's Code". It was at that moment that I became aware of The Fighter.

                  I’ve seen Rocky, and Cinderella Man, and Million Dollar Baby. I’ve watched footage of real fights, and I'm familiar with the Golden Gloves. The Fighter isn’t unique because of its plot. It is a classic tale of desperation, misfortune, and a scrappy underdog from the wrong side of the tracks. The movie, much like Micky Ward, is separated from its competitors because of its heart. It took the skeleton of a tried and true (literally) story and created a work of art, complete with skillful acting, interesting cinematography, and spot-on accents.

                   First, the accents. I’m very critical of Boston accents in movies. After Vera Farmiga’s grating and forced attempt in The Departed, I was not expecting much from anyone other than Mark Wahlberg. Amy Adams stepped out of her neat box to play a tough but loving girlfriend, dropping her r’s like she’d been living in Lowell her entire life. Marky Mark, of course, poured on the Dorchester dialect, but the real hero was Christian Bale. He was so comfortable with his speech patterns that I stopped worrying whether or not he was going to slip up after about thirty seconds. Supporting roles like crack addicts, nasally Ward sisters, and even local legend Sgt. Mickey O'Keefe (played by himself) were performed by native actors.

                  Amy Adams gave a career-changing performance, and Mark Wahlberg was consistent and dedicated to his role, but the real accolades belong to Christian Bale. Tough accent aside, Bale went through a regimen of training for this film, including losing weight to play the drug-addled Dicky Eklund. Reportedly staying in character even while not on set, Bale transformed himself into the charismatic yet manipulative and illogical Eklund. With his haunting and bitter performance, Bale elevated this film from sports biopic to gritty and uncomfortable ode to the city of Lowell and its inhabitants.

                  There was something very real about the filming of this movie. No one looked airbrushed, the scenery was sharp and crystalline, and Wahlberg even denied a stunt double for the boxing scenes, drenching the film in a sense of actuality, of plausibility and authenticity that often comes from directors who are willing to let their art speak for itself. The Fighter is more than just another sports movie. Every member of the cast and crew clearly transferred all of themselves into the project; the emotion behind every time they came up short, each instance in which they almost made it, and all the chances that they never took oozes out of every line, every shot, and every detail. If Micky Ward is the Pride of Lowell, then The Fighter is undeniably the Pride of 2010 Cinema. 

"I heard you're a stepping stone."

Watch the trailer here: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2330986777/