David O. Russell Marvleous Return

Rating: 9/10 (5 December 2013)

The Fighter is the first film I have seen from David O. Russell and this is the film that really made me took notice of him. The Fighter had some strong competition during that year which may have caused the film to be lost within the hype of the other films like Black Swan, The Social Network and Inception.
The film's screenplay was written by Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, and Eric Johnson. The great aspect of the film's writing is that the complications and the relationships in the film feel natural and empathetic. The film focuses on these relationships and how it affects the protagonist. From the beginning of the film, it is easy to see that Micky Ward is driven by the influences from his life and it keeps going that way until Ward himself finally has a grasp on his needs and what is essential to succeed in his career and in a way his personal life. People may see Micky Ward as a guy who can't decide what he wants and not independent enough to make his own decisions. This didn't bother me because these characters are so well defined and their presence and effect on Micky that his emotional and mental condition throughout the film is justifiable. The film also touches on Micky's brother, mother and girlfriend. Their stories and relationship with each other are interesting to watch even if at times it may come off as cliché or melodramatic. The dialogue in this film for the most part surprisingly entertaining with moments that will have you laughing or feeling sad. The well written relationships and the entertaining dialogue drives this film effectively even if the plot sometimes doesn't stray off the mainstream.
David O. Russell directed this feature and I see The Fighter as his comeback film showing what a force he is in the industry. David O. Russell really wanted to make this film be focused with the characters and their relationships rather than the style and visual beauty of the sport. That move was risky as I was afraid Russell may not bring anything new to the genre and it'll just recycle the stories with new characters. Russell wanted this film to be driven more by the performances and he succeeded with characters you would just love to see on screen and I felt he really did bring the best out of these actors because they all seem to be outside their usual stereotypes. While that is going on, he was still able to craft a well done underdog story driven by the protagonist's relationships.
The Fighter's cinematographer is Hoyte Van Hoytema who only gained recognition and success in his work in Let The Right One In. Hoytema and Russell has taken a much more hand-held personal camcorder kind of style of photography having us feel like we are standing next to these characters as things unfold. I personally liked this approach and at first I was a bit afraid that the hand-held style may lead to borderline erratic but it's maintained and carefully handled here. The film jumps back and forth a few times with a cinematic feel and a television sports broadcasting style in telling the story. The former features bulk of the film and the latter is only during the main fights. The latter at times do take away from the personal and intimate approach and this is mostly felt on the deep scenes between characters during the fight, particularly at the climax. There are moments in the film where Russell and Hoytema have taken influence from previous boxing films like Raging Bull.
The Fighter is much more soundtrack driven rather than score driven and it does work for me, though I do wonder how different the tone of the film would be if Michael Brook, the composer for the film, was given the opportunity to create a score replacing the soundtracks. Sometimes in sports films, soundtracks do become a bit cliché and tend to use the same type of music but here I didn't feel that as the tracks are placed in specific moments that it didn't distract me or having me feel that it was cheesy. Michael Brook's score was great when it comes on but it's very rare that I do hear it due to maybe the fact that Russell might feel it may detract from the characters and having us think that it's more than what it is, well it's not and Russell doesn't want us to search for something that isn't really there.
The acting in this film is the main reason that this film is given much praise as it boasts the best performance from Christian Bale, Mark Whalberg, Melissa Leo and Amy Adams so far. I was glad to see that the Academy was able to give them credit where it was due but I was a bit disappointed to see Whalberg on not being nominated. I was amazed on Bale's transformation, just from the first shot where he appears he just looks sickly and disgusting. I was also impressed with Adams transition from her good girl characters to this tough and assertive woman who takes control of the scene every time she's on. Melissa Leo definitely was a standout in this film too who always strives for attention and to be the best in the scene, she seems to get the bets reactions from the actors therefore making the scenes much more effective. Jack McGee was really entertaining to see here, either being subtly funny or being able to add on the drama of the scene. I wish he is able to get much better roles in the future.
The Fighter so far is one of my favorite sports films of all time and also it is tied as my favorite from David O. Russell. I am glad to see Russell coming back and continues to make great films (SIlver Linings Playbook & the upcoming American Hustle).