By Geno McGahee
Part of the magic of combat sports is the drama that surrounds it. When two people step into the ring or the cage, the emotions are high, there’s danger in the air, and there’s always a story. In 1976, Sly Stallone showed what a boxer goes through and how much one fight can mean. More recently, in 2011, Gavin O’Connor brought WARRIOR, a mixed martial arts movie that brought the grit of the sport and the drama that a family can go through before, during and after the fights. Written by Kurt Sutter, SOUTHPAW is the latest quality film that surrounds combat sports, the people it attracts and the good and the bad that it can create.
Antoine Fuqua directs and his imprint is noticeable from the start of the film. Much like his work in TRAINING DAY and THE EQUALIZER, Fuqua makes is gritty and believable, creating the flawed hero in boxer Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal). Hope is the undefeated light heavyweight champion and he is living the life. He is known for his brawling style and knockout punch, but his consistent beatings are very troubling to his wife, Maureen (Rachel McAdams). He comes home spitting up blood and barely able to move, but his fighting is keeping them and their daughter, Leila (Oona Laurence) in a mansion and living well.
The number one contender, Miguel Escobar (Miguel Gomez), starts taunting Hope as he looks for the title shot. Hope plans to retire after his wife’s plea, but disaster happens. At a charity event, Escobar approaches him again and says some very derogatory things about his wife. Despite his wife begging him not to street fight Escobar, he does, and Maureen ends up shot and killed.
Suicidal and self-destructive, Hope becomes a wreck. He attacks his friends and neglects his daughter. He is in a terrible place but his promoter, Jordan Mains (50 Cent), convinces him to sign a three-fight deal with HBO for 30 million. He does so, but his first fight shows exactly where his mind is. He walks with his hands down and takes a beating until the fight is stopped. He was hoping to be killed in the ring. He lost his title, his undefeated record, and shortly after, his daughter. After a suicide attempt, his daughter gets taken by the state and his house gets foreclosed on. He has hit rock bottom.
Starting from scratch, he seeks out the trainer of the one fighter that he felt beat him. He goes into the gym owned by Tick Wills (Forest Whitaker) and asks him to train him and for a job. When Tick offers him the job to clean the gym, he storms out, offended. He crawls back and takes the job and begins to learn a lot more about life than boxing from Wills. Wills sees the anger destroying Hope and the lack of discipline in the ring and starts working on both problems. With his daughter hating him, Hope begins to reflect and understand that the world does not revolve around him and things begin to look up.
No longer the brawler, Hope gets a chance to lace up the gloves again and steps into an exhibition bout against a contender. He wins and it attracts his old promoter and a comeback is set. He will fight Escobar for the title in just six weeks and there will be a lot of emotion going into it. The story going into the fight was the murdered wife and with Hope’s history of not being able to control his emotions, anything could happen. Wills and Hope have other plans and go into it, removing all emotion and following the game plan.
The fight is on and it is an emotional battle with a satisfactory ending, leading to a great moment with a father and a daughter that struggled to cope with a death. SOUTHPAW is a great drama and it does something that is not done often because it’s difficult to do. Initially, it is very easy to dislike Billy Hope. When his wife dies, you feel for the wife, but not for him. He becomes even worse as he copes with the death, but when he meets up with Wills, he starts to turn it around and he becomes easier to root for. At the end, he is the likable hero. It’s an amazing journey for Hope and the viewer and we are along for the ride.
Jake Gyllenhaal did a great job in this and was just the right guy. Outside of it being about boxing, I knew nothing of this film, and was sort of surprised by the dark nature and grit, but as the film went on, it all really came together in a great way. Rachel McAdams was also the right choice. I haven’t seen her in a film since THE HOT CHICK and I have to say that I’m glad that she has gotten this role. She was endearing and likable. The young Oona Laurence was very impressive as well showing a wide range of emotions and working incredibly well off of Gyllenhaal. Forest Whitaker, as always, delivers. SOUTHPAW put together an amazing cast all around.
As a boxing fan, it was nice to see Victor Ortiz involved. He has an interesting life story and had begun to make the transition from boxing to film. The HBO crew, including Roy Jones, JR., and Jim Lampley are also involved and that always brings a level or reality to it, even when RJJ is wrong with his facts. Sergio Martinez is not Columbian, but if you’re not a boxing fan, you’d never know.
SOUTHPAW is a great drama and it brings a different approach. It shows a side of boxing and humanity that you rarely see. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 8/10
SOUTHPAW has been released on DVD & Blu-Ray by Anchor Bay. Along with the feature, the Blu-Ray has a Q&A with the cast and a featurette that takes you deeper into the ring.
