Gyllenhaal all over the map

Rating: Null/10 (27 October 2015)

If you think about it, pugilistic movies, whether you consider them a sub-genre or a genre by themselves, enjoy a high rate of success. We don't need to bring out classics such as "Raging Bull" or long-living TV series look-alikes such as "Rocky". A simple yarn as Russell Crowes's "Cinderella Man" (2005) has gone down smoothly for the general audience. And then, there are even boxing robots! Hugh Jackman's "Real Steel" (2011) has earned a remarkable 7.1 rating from IMDb users, not to mention launching talented Evangeline Lilly.
Two names attracted me to "Southpaw". One is indeed a solid lead while the other is just a little more than a cameo, and only just. When I caught some fleeting images of Rachel McAdams on the TV "Popcorn Time" interview, there were two movies, one about her intensive training as a cop, and the other "Southpaw" (the former actually turned out to be TV series "True detective"). For "Southpaw", it wasn't until when I was in the cinema that I saw her die within the first 20 minutes. Still, watching her brief performance was rewarding. She plays Maureen, the wife of prizefighter Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal). Growing up together in a poverty stricken slump, this pair proves to be a winning combination of brains and muscles and a guess I do not need to elaborate on which is which. The movie truly starts when Maureen is accidentally shot dead in a confusing crowd scene where the gunman (gender presumed) was never identified, let alone apprehended.
I won't elaborate on the simple plot line of how Billy plunges from heaven to hell, riches to rags. His devoted 10-year-old old daughter Leila (Oona Laurence) is now taken away temporarily and assigned to the custodianship of public welfare. The deepest hurt is in Leila's alienation from a father who has "screwed up" (I think the language in the movie is even stronger). Redemption starts from midpoint of the movie, with Billy's headstrong determination not to give up, seeking help from top-notch trainer Tick Wills (Forest Whitaker) who had shunned the lucrative business of training professionals to take up the somewhat altruistic endeavors of training deprived young men in the neighborhood. Not unexpectedly, the movie concludes in upbeat: triumph, redemption, forgiveness, reconciliation.
One critic, at least, cited three Oscar acting potentials and I would like to explore this. My summary line is somewhat literal as Mount Everest is definitely one of the most noticeable spots on the map. Ever since his first, and only, Oscar acting nomination a decade ago for supporting in "Brokeback Mountain", Gyllenhaal has tackled a large variety of roles and has generally been considered a talented actor. He does have a good number of awards but for heavyweights (no pun intended), what he has to show is only the BAFTA win for "Brokeback Mountain". Recently he was nominated in both Golden Globe and BAFTA for best actor in "Nightcrawler" (2014) but did not bring home either award. In both his recent leads, he had characters at the high end of the IQ scale, a fearless mountain guide in "Everest" and an unscrupulous reporter in "Nightcrawler". Billy Hope is at the other end of the spectrum. While not exactly taciturn, he mumbles in phrases that do not exactly articulate his thoughts. This is delivered convincingly by Gyllenhaal. His portrayal of Billy's dogged determination to win back Leila, both physically and emotionally, is touching. Playing Leila, Oona Laurence serves notice that she is the latest of the parade of wonders of child actors, too many to list. The emotional roller-coaster from devotion to alienation back to reconciliation, a challenge even for a seasoned performer, is exactly what Laurence needed to prove herself. As to seasoned performers, who is better than Whitaker to interpret the iconic trainer? The initial stern persona soon unfolds into releasing of layers of deeply buried emotions. The well-executed final climatic fight deserves mentioning but it is the performances of the aforementioned three that is the soul of this movie.