REVIEW: Southpaw

Courtesy of The Weinstein Company

I still can’t believe Jake Gyllenhaal didn’t get a Best Actor nomination for his unsettling turn as a sociopathic videographer in Nightcrawler, last fall’s ultra-dark satire of modern media. Apparently, based on his latest project, neither can he. I’m terrible at award season prognostication, but I’m guessing his work will get him on the shortlist for a nomination this time around.

In Southpaw, he plays another complicated antihero, however this one has a far more traditional character arc – and he also underwent a staggering physical transformation for the role. Nothing gets Oscar voters’ attention like a showy performance and a relatively quick turnaround from hollow-eyed scarecrow (he lost 25 pounds from his already-thin frame for Nightcrawler) to a boxer with six-pack abs.

That’s not to discredit Gyllenhaal’s acting – he’s terrific as always. I just wish the movie around him was better. It aims to be a gritty drama chronicling a hotshot boxer’s redemption, but instead it plays out as 100 minutes of misery porn followed by 20 minutes of a genuinely riveting fight. The emotional ratio is so unbalanced that by the time viewers are asked to cheer for a positive outcome, they’ve long stopped believing that’s a realistic goal.

Gyllenhaal, packing on 15 pounds of muscle, plays Billy “The Great” Hope (if you’re chuckling at his unsubtle moniker, this on-the-nose movie probably isn’t for you), the current junior middleweight boxing champ. He’s on top of the world with an amazing wife (Rachel McAdams), a delightful little girl (Oona Laurence), a giant mansion, lots of expensive cars and plenty of yes-men to inflate his already massive ego.

But all of that changes after Billy’s temper – so valuable in the ring – leads to tragedy in the outside world (I’ll be vague, even though the trailer gives away the big moment). Over the course of a few weeks, his life rivals Job’s: he loses his family, his buddies, his home and most of his worldly possessions. Then his lifelong manager and friend (Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson) puts the cherry on this terrible sundae, abandoning him to work for his biggest rival (Miguel Gomez).

Now at rock bottom, Billy turns to Tick Willis (Forest Whitaker), a retired fighter who spends his days training troubled kids at a rundown gym. With his redemption riding on their work together, Billy must acknowledge that his rage bought him his successful life, but also cost him everything he loves. If he’s going to make a better life for himself, he must learn to fight the right way.

Going by the above synopsis, Southpaw sounds like a great flick, maybe even the foul-mouthed Rocky update it’s striving to be. However, the never-ending escalation of obstacles and despair eventually desensitized me to the point that the story grew comical instead of upsetting. (I could tell you the exact moment I checked out, but I won’t spoil it for you.) I don’t know why I expected anything else from a screenplay credited to Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter.

In addition, there’s another sizable narrative roadblock: it’s tough to root for the protagonist to claw his way back to the top when every problem he has is a result of his own boneheaded decisions. His character evolves a bit by the end, but nowhere near enough time passes to establish this might be a permanent change. And to be blunt, I’m not sure why the movie has us rooting for Billy to get his daughter back; for almost two-thirds of the running time, it’s clear she’s much safer under the supervision of family services.

However, the film boasts several positive attributes that elevate the material above its problematic script. Obviously, the performances are the biggest selling point. I’ve already mentioned that Gyllenhaal is great as usual, but McAdams and Laurence match his intensity.

Although her screen time is brief, McAdams somehow makes her character even more intriguing than Billy. I get why the story needs her to make a quick exit, but I would’ve loved to learn a little more about her history with this guy, specifically what drove her to stay with such a volatile personality.

Laurence is a joy to watch, transforming a standard “cute little kid” role into something far more compelling. Best of all, she exhibits none of the annoying traits that child actors tend to utilize in their performances. Whitaker is also good as the world-weary trainer who sees through Billy’s anger and emotional baggage to the fighter he could actually become. The role itself is a cliché, but he breathes new life into it.

The other big selling point is the climactic boxing match that takes up the final act. For most of the movie, director Antoine Fuqua and cinematographer Mauro Fiore stage each scene with lighting appropriate to the story’s grim tone – everything on screen has a dingy look, with lots of shadows. But the big fight looks like you’re watching it on HBO, with vivid colors and rapid-fire editing contributing to the reality of the match. I particularly loved the POV shots that communicate the terror of being on the receiving end of those punches.

Although Southpaw is far from perfect, it’s still a decent enough entry in the sports genre to make it worth a watch. Just make sure you’ve got something a little more uplifting planned for the rest of your evening.

Southpaw is rated R for language throughout, and some violence.

Grade: B-