#5 - The Fighter (2010)

This is entry number two in the Road to the Oscars series (my yearly goal to see as many likely Oscar-nominated movies as possible), and seventh of Entertainment Weekly's 25 movies to see before Oscar night.

Okay, it's decided: Christian Bale will and should win an Oscar for his role as Dicky Eklund in the amazing movie The Fighter.  My only criticism about this (and it is echoed exactly by my brother Matt, who saw the movie with me) is that it will surely be in the Supporting Actor category.  This is really a travesty.  The movie is precisely about the story of both brothers simultaneously.

One of the major themes of the movie is, you guessed it, family.  The brothers are as much a part of each others' lives as it is possible to be and though the movie's "inspirational sports movie" subgenre plot does follow Micky Ward's (Mark Wahlberg) career, the two characters' arcs are interwoven by necessity.  The story being told is a true one, and the viewer is no less invested in Dicky than Micky.  (Following still?)

Supporting the two characters are two of the most kick-ass women in moviedom at the moment: the boys' mother, portrayed by the sensational Melissa Leo, and Micky's girlfriend, the hott (yes, two t's) Amy Adams, who gets better just about every time I see her.  (Forgetting she ever made "Leap Year", of course.)  Few people could have ever stood up to the intimidating Alice (Leo), but Charlene (Adams), who always feels in the right (a character trait evinced by nearly the entire cast) doesn't seem to mind.  The movie does seem to offer the maxim: "Behind every good man, is a good woman (or two)."

The movie isn't perfect from start to finish; my brother and I had the same problem, which he was able to articulate better than me.  When Dicky comes back into Micky's life (still following?), Wahlberg's character is all over the place.  He's saying one thing, saying another thing, doing a third thing... it's very muddling, and actual seems to detract from our understanding of the characters as we know them.  Of course I realize that these are complex characters and that not everything gets wrapped up in neat little packages, but the scene borders on being overwrought.  The scene needed to be handled a little more carefully, if the director still wants us to follow.

Overall, the film falls into the "must-see" category.  The acting is superb, and the ending (which features the actual Micky and Dicky over the closing credits) is sure to pull out the emotions (as I figured it would).

I really debated over my final score, but I have decided that I am very happy with it.

Until tomorrow!

Score: 9/10

Would-be deserved Oscar nominations:

Best Picture, Best Actor-- though this will be supporting (Bale), Best Supporting Actress (Adams), Best Supporting Actress (Leo) - yes, they both absolutely deserve it - Best Film Editing

Oh, Matt just reminded me of one other amazing part of the film: the look of the "fake" ESPN fights as though they were taking them from old footage.  It could have been gimmicky, but instead it enhanced the look and feel of the film.  Masterful.