Punching In

One by one, I seem to be picking up the last of the 2010 Best Picture Oscar nominated films that I missed in the theaters. The most recent was The Fighter, the movie that actually won acting statues for Christian Bale and Melissa Leo.

On one level, it's a pretty typical sports movie -- upstart with natural talent ties to overcome adversity and be a success. But it does manage to break from the norm in a few interesting ways. For one, the adversity in this film is the boxer's family. Not because they're poor, or because they don't believe him (we've all seen that), but because they're all just royal screw-ups.

The opening minutes of the film are also presented as an interesting take on a documentary. We see a film crew gathering footage to make a documentary, not the actual "mockumentary" itself. It's characters living their actual, unedited lives, but in a heightened way, hamming it up deliberately for the cameras.

I'm not sure I see what was so fantastic about Melissa Leo's performance to warrant her Oscar win. Her acting is fine, but no more stand-out than that of co-stars Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams. All of them serve their characters, convey their emotions, and nail their accents. I don't mean for it to sound as workmanlike as all that; I simply mean it's all good without being Award-worthy.

But then there's Christian Bale. The man may have a reputation for being an ass to work with, but his results are mind-blowing. He has to be one of the best actors working today. He transforms into a wholly different person in each performance, and here is no exception. His strung-out drug addict is pitiable and loathsome, manic and defeated in turns. He has delivered Award-worthy work in many other movies, but I certainly don't begrudge the win here.

Still, the movie can only be so different before it has to snap back to the rigid formula of sports movies. Or, to put it another way -- you know how this one's gonna end, folks. I don't tend to watch many of these kinds of movies, as I can only find them so moving, so inspirational, so dramatic, whatever. And this movie, despite the towering performance, is no exception. I rate it a B, which in my book is a good but not great movie. If boxing movies are your thing, you might like it better. Either way, it may well be one to put on your list (if not rush to see).