(Historical Post 28/09/15)
Life has well and truly got in my way lately, birthdays, weddings, babies, (“Birthday? Wedding? Baby?.....Hand me the lilies” If you can guess where that quote is from we can be best friends) holidays, moving house etc etc so I haven’t written since god knows when! Shocking I know but this is the start of a major catch up session.
I don’t even know where to start with this film, to be honest. Totally overwhelming, as was to be expected.
I saw it the day it came out and I’ve watched it again since and the general consensus is, I am totally in love with it. Shock.
Its another one of those films that’s taken me a while to write about because I wanted to really digest it and get my opinions straight before I even typed a word.
I don’t know why, but I knew from the second I saw the trailer, I would adore it, largely I have to admit, because of Jake Gyllenhaal being all sweaty and covered in blood for the majority of it.
The commitment he has shown to this role is mind bending and all I could think and say, whilst watching it for the first time was, he must have been absolutely exhausted, mentally and physically, once that production wrapped – it is a vein popping, muscle flexing, tear jerking, delight to watch.
This film seems to be something of an anomaly, as it is such a cheesy, cliché ridden cheddar fest, but it’s taken on a life of its own and become quite a success due to, in my opinion, two performances alone – Jake Gyllenhaal and Oona Laurence. Considering the formulaic predictable storyline you would think it would have just been a complete bomb.
The whole thing is this gritty yet heart-warming homage to Rocky – the original Southpaw. With a little sniff of Raging Bull thrown in for good measure.
The first act is all glitz and glam and sparkly golds and rich Navy blues, rainbows, butterflies and blue skies beautifully contrasted by the deep crimson of the victorious blood, shed in the ring, whilst the second act turns into this sickly sepia tone that’s all stark and so sharp you can see every line on JG’s face, like the soft focus filter has been lifted so as to show you the shit he’s living in and the hell he’s going through in stark jarring detail - even the blood seems a brighter yet dirtier red, instead of the rich ruby colour it was in the first act.
Intentional or not that seems to me to be something to do with the futility of the bloodshed in the second act, he bled for victory in the beginning but from Maureen’s death to the disastrous comeback bout that gets him suspended it’s a tragic and soul destroying shade of red.
The rags to riches story has been played out oh so many times and like I said before it’s literally one of the most predictable movies I’ve seen in a long time but no one cares! It’s delicious; like if it was a living breathing entity I’d lick it and it would taste like toffee apples, it even has the obligatory training montage – no ‘Eye of the Tiger’ this time though, it’s been updated to Eminem's 'Phenomenal’ – the head to toe (or toe to head? shot that kicks off the montage makes my belly flip and not just because he’s gorgeous just because its beautiful camera work and you know exactly whats coming, you know this is the turning point in the film, he’s going to train so hard in the next two and half minutes that his entire life will be turned round by it – sounds like I’m taking the piss but I absolutely am not – movie montages that warm your heart and get you rooting for the underdog are one of THE best things to come out of the 80’s (besides John Cusack)
Speaking of the soundtrack - we need to talk about ‘Beast’ by Rob Bailey & The Hustle Standard, a song which me and my housemate are obsessed with, it’s one of those songs that gets you all riled up like you want to get someone in a headlock and wrestle them ha ha in fact the whole soundtrack is perfect – I will usually watch a film and think hmmm you should have used that song there or that song here would have worked better, but this film shut me right up. Every song was appropriate, not like a Scorcese type thing where he chooses a completely in appropriate song but it works so well you are beaming at the screen (e.g. Mrs Robinson in Wolf of Wall Street) this is the complete opposite but just as perfect.
It also included what I call the ‘Hearts on Fire’ moment (from Rocky 4) – the music starts and you’re done, the end, you’re in tears – this happened with the tender moment that ends the story Father and Daughter embracing to the dulcet tones of Frank Ocean – I’m actually welling up now just thinking about it. It was perfectly in keeping with the stilton tone of the rest of the movie.
I do have one complaint – firstly the fact that almost the entire movie could have been an Adidas commercial made me cringe, I understand product placement but this was about as subtle as a brick and it also appears that they threw in Rita Ora as part of the deal – totally unnecessary, it just lowered the tone of the film – like a gimicky type appearance that the film just didn’t need. I have so much more to say on the matter but my aim is not to slag people off for the sake of it.
I have to say that despite this I am so in love with this film its borderline psychotic, so does any of the above paragraph even really count? Probably not.
Enough complaining; let’s talk about Jake.
Despite the non-ground-breaking subject matter and the predictable nature of the film as a whole, I am going to predict and Oscar nomination for JG – bold statement yes but I stand by it.
The man is a MACHINE.
For someone who has never boxed in his life his over-all appearance, physique, walk, body language etc just scream seasoned professional boxer at you, He adopts a whole new stance, he walked with a slight, almost non-detectable bounce, like a boxer dancing round the ring, he barely speaks through the whole film and when he does he hardly opens his mouth but the perfect accent and slightly slow, bordering on punch drunk dialogue come out when he does.
This quiet unassuming persona 90% of the time makes the outbursts of temper all that more tangible and the heart wrenching scenes when his daughter is ripped from his arms more soul crushing and the close up moments he breaks the fourth wall and looks directly into the camera in the ring, almost like blood spitting war cries, giving us the very definition of blood sweat and tears, warts and all ating at its finest, you can see the veins popping in his neck and his temples pulsing its glorious – its commitment to a role in all its blood soaked ugliness there was no vanity in this role whatsoever not a trace its just, argggghhhh (I have no word for it but my fists are clenched)
I adore him, he’s a very, very talented man, a natural actor who you can see enjoys his work, takes great pride in it and does it for himself and no one else, it just so happens he is lucky enough to get paid for it. He basically rips your heart out of your chest and chews on it during the moments directly after Maureen is shot, he’s so versatile it pains me.
He reminded me of Channing Tatum in Foxcatcher – a performance that should never have been ignored the way it was. I just hope that JG has proved his acting chops enough not to be overlooked by the Academy, like Channing was.
Costume and make up wise, yes, he was a walking talking Adidas commercial but who cares, his tattoos were perfect especially the Father and Fighter on his forearms and of course the inspiration for the itle of this post ‘Fear No Man’ on his back – very fitting for a fighter.
The supporting cast, except the two I mentioned previously were all perfectly cast, Oona Laurence playing is daughter was absolutely perfect – she is definitely one to watch, I have so much to say about her but we will be here all day and this post is already far too long.
Rachel McAdams did a sterling job as usual – I love her. She is a perect fit for Maureen even down to the costume/make up etc they put her in – genius like you can tell she has money but you can also tell her roots are on the street she struggled to get where she is and she holds on to her old life ever so slightly for whatever reason.
Forrst whitaker is basically every movie boxing trainier you've ever seen rolled into one, so its nothing to shout about but the chemistry between him and JG is even more of a joy to watch that the chemistry between JG and Rachel McAdams it’s a wonderful bromance that makes me ache.
Some of my favourite sequences are the fight scenes, they are choreographed to perfection, JG’s moves are so fluid and graceful and we get almost silent glimpses into his mind set as a fighter, one particular shot starts wide and ends tight on his battered and bruised face, accompanied only by the sound of his heart beating its so beautiful to watch.
My number one favourite moment is the painfully gorgeous slo-mo southpaw knock out towards the end, its your reward as a viewer, it’s that moment movie goers live for, the victory you want so much you can taste it.
Nothing will EVER replace Rocky in my heart but this comes very very close.