A good but imperfect boxing drama

Rating: 7/10 (21 July 2015)

SOUTHPAW is an interesting drama about a boxer, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who loses everything when tragedy strikes and must redeem himself. The best thing about the film is easily the performances. Jake Gyllenhaal did an excellent job in the leading role as he played a flawed, multi-dimensional but (in part) sympathetic boxer who hits rock bottom and tries to redeem himself. I also thought the supporting cast was great as well--Forest Whitaker's role was good, the child actress who plays Gyllenhaal's daughter nearly stole the show, and Rachel McAdams' performance was powerful and showed some solid emotional depth. Speaking of emotional depth, the film is also very emotionally deep because it is more personal than you would guess (it shows 'up-close' the downward spiral and redemption of its protagonist,) which enhanced the film in my opinion. However, I thought the film had some flaws as well. The film's pacing seemed too fast in some scenes, particularly in the second and third acts. The script has a few issues as well: there were a few lines where the dialogue tried to be very frank but it comes off as silly, and a few lines that were meant to be ironic but don't really come off as irony to the viewer based on the context of the scene. Finally, the plot is quite predictable. That said, I thought this was a worthwhile and generally well-made film despite the flaws I mentioned. It's not a masterpiece, but it's good, and I do recommend seeing it.