Unsatisfying

Rating: 6/10 (28 February 2011)

Why does a film with great performances by Christian Bale, Melissa Leo and Amy Adams leave one so unsatisfied? First, Mark Wahlberg is the lead and he has difficulty holding up his part against the showy performances by the already mentioned trio of Bale, Leo and Adams. Many newspaper articles questioned why Wahlberg was not nominated for an Oscar while his three costars were. My simple answer is that his performance is not very good. (Yes, its difficult for a star to hold a film together while his supporting players get to chew the scenery. But real stars can -- think Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs, holding the focus of the film against Tony Hopkins over-the-top performance.) Second, the film starts as a character study and ends up being a sports history picture. The ending feels like a different film compared to the beginning and middle. The structure and writing of the film leave something to be desired. Bottom line - you'll find several of the performances worth watching but you might find the film lacking.