Split decision

Rating: 7/10 (14 January 2016)

"Southpaw" has some powerful scenes and an eye-popping performance by Jake Gyllenhaal, but surprisingly, doesn't even try to avoid the most obvious clichés of the genre.
The heart of the movie is the story of a dad who loses, then struggles to regain the custody of his daughter. Jake inhabits the tough, inarticulate character of Billy Hope, a man who has fought his way up from life in an orphanage to become the World Light Heavyweight Boxing Champion.
The boxing setting is convincing – up to a point. The whole thing looks real with very believable ringside commentary and fighters who look the business, especially Jake who is superbly ripped and looks able to handle himself.
However like most boxing movies, the blows the fighters rain on each other are a bit problematic. Maybe it was the sound effects in this case, but some of the hits the guys were shrugging off would have staggered a Yeti, and stopped a real bout pretty quickly – especially at the weights they are fighting at. I say this even though Billy is supposed to be a boxer who can absorb loads of punishment before delivering the winning punch.
Without spoiling it for anyone who hasn't seen it, the story takes an unexpected turn quite early, setting up the dilemma in Billy's life. The boxing is secondary to the story of his redemption, and interestingly, the film doesn't take much of a stance on boxing either way other than when Billy's wife, Maureen (Rachel McAdams), pleads with him to stop taking the punishment he receives in the ring.
In the acting stakes, Forest Whitaker gives Jake a run for his money as ex-boxer, 'Tick' Willis, who runs a gym in a tough part of town. He is an ambivalent character who doesn't always stick to his own rules. However the complexity he and the others brings to their parts helps separate this film from all the other boxing pictures we have seen – although in truth, "Southpaw" follows the numbers pretty closely.
As a boxing movie, it doesn't travel into the downbeat territory of Huston's "Fat City" or even Wise's noir "The Setup". However, the powerful performances drive through the melodrama, and "Southpaw" does win in the end even if it's through a series of jabs rather than a knockout blow.