Raw to the bone

Rating: 7/10 (10 November 2015)

Southpaw is a punch to the gut. The story is a pretty basic one, a boxer at his prime goes through some personal losses, and has to learn a new better way of fighting and thinking to claim his redemption. It's an efficient story but a sad one as it felt like Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) couldn't get a break until 2/3 of the movie was finished. The movie does not back down on Hope and this can get disheartening but makes the ending much more powerful. The performances were all very good with Gyllenhaal almost unrecognizable in his role. His track record as an actor is becoming better and better as he switches from different roles to another. Forrest Whitaker proves once again that he is a great secondary actor by playing a memorable flawed trainer. Most characters were interesting and three dimensional and I was looking forward to a flawed, guilt ridden portrayal of the "villain" who was indirectly involved in the event that crushed Billy Hope and started his descent from glory. Instead, the issue isn't addressed and we are left with a somewhat bland antagonist...