Southpaw (2015) Reviews

• Formulaic but entertaining, in its own way, with an excellent cast doing excellent work.

  shawneofthedead2015-07-17

  There's got to be something magical at work here. Strictly speaking, there isn't a shred of anything remotely original in Southpaw's DNA. Boil the narrative down to its bare bones, and it's a tried-and-tested, tried-and-tired retread of the sports movie. It's not even metaphorically about getting back up after life knocks you down - that's literally the plot of the film. And yet, through Antoine Fuqua's sensitive direction, Kurt Sutter's punchy dialogue and some excellent performances, Southpaw somehow transcends its own generic limitations. We meet the scrappy Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) at the height of his career as a boxer. He's the undefeated champion of the world in his category, and after each match, he gets to drag his broken, bruised body home to his doting wife Maureen (Rachel McAdams) and adorable daughter Leila (Oona Laurence). It's a far better life than a kid born and raised on the streets could have hoped for. But, one terrible day, tragedy strikes. Practically overnight, Billy loses everything: his career, his lifestyle, and his family. Trapped by grief, depression and his grim circumstances, Billy must fight hard to get back on his feet and recover what he can of his old life. From an objective standpoint, Southpaw is almost breathtakingly old- fashioned and unoriginal. You've definitely seen it all before - arrogant athlete suffers an ignominious setback, and must gain some humility and a better understanding of the more important things in life before he can complete his journey towards redemption. Sutter's script seems to almost thrive on its many clichés. He saddles his protagonist with the weighty and completely unsubtle surname of Hope. When all seems bleak, Billy's scheming agent Jordan Mains (Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson) deserts him for his chief rival. Billy acquires a gruff but trustworthy mentor in the form of Tick Wills (Forest Whitaker). The film has even forgotten to explain - or take into account - its title, which refers to a stance adopted by left- handed boxers in the ring. And yet, for all its flaws, Southpaw is a compelling, touching and surprisingly truthful effort. Fuqua tackles the predictable elements of the story with such verve and sensitivity that he manages to make them more palatable. The director unearths the gnawing heartbreak in Billy's anguish, as he visits a daughter who has grown cold and unresponsive towards him. The relationship that develops between Billy and Tick has its obligatory share of training montages, but also features moments of genuine connection between the two men, as they drink, mourn and bond with each other. Though it never becomes what you might call a classic, Southpaw occasionally flirts with greatness. That's due almost entirely to its cast. McAdams channels her trademark sunshine and charm into a relatively thankless supporting role. Her energy and chemistry with Gyllenhaal add invaluable weight to the emotional stakes in the film, lingering long after each of her scenes with her on-screen husband. Whitaker, who could play his part in his sleep, thankfully doesn't do so. Instead, he's very present, suggesting a darker inner life to his character that's fascinating to watch. Laurence, meanwhile, is a great find. She plays every aspect of Leila - her innocence and vulnerability, as well as her resentment and steely determination - with a piercing, heartbreaking truthfulness. The main draw, however, is Gyllenhaal, and for very good reason. Frankly, no one would have expected him to take the part of Billy Hope, which had originally been designed with rapper Eminem in mind. And yet, Gyllenhaal once again proves with Southpaw, as he has done with his consistently bold and off-kilter career choices, that he might very well be the finest actor of his generation. In a complete turnaround from his skeletal look in last year's Nightcrawler, he's practically unrecognisable as the beefed-up, mumbly Billy, burying his own slim frame and fine bone structure beneath layers of weight and muscle. Beyond the physical transformation, however, are Billy's darker demons. It's here where Gyllenhaal excels, as Billy taps into, releases and, ultimately, learns to temper the almost blinding rage that both drives and traps him. Truth be told, there are better movies out there about boxing and/or redemption. This isn't Rocky, much less Raging Bull. But, somehow, Southpaw pulls off that weird, difficult trick of being predictable but compelling at the same time. The ending may never be in doubt, but there's a certain pleasure to be derived from the journey. If all else fails, watch this for Gyllenhaal, who's currently doing some of the best, most vital work of his career.

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• Jake Gyllenhaal's performance is a southpaw that goes straight to the heart

  JoaoPovoaMarinheiro2015-10-03

  We can always criticize Hollywood for bringing movies that are intended to toss some smoke to the viewer by presenting something new with repeated formulas and recycled plots we have seen somewhere else before. The same goes for "Southpaw"... apart from the fact that there's something more lying inside this story about a boxer's redemption. The answer to it is the trust it puts into the strength of its actors and the gripping emotions that come with it. There's a little sparkle that starts to light up inside of us during the very first minutes of the movie. And even if we barely have the time to see Gyllenhaal and McAdams' characters, we didn't need more because we were instantly dragged towards an emotional charge that never abandons the plot and whose "legacy" is carried on the main actor's shoulders. Gyllenhaal doesn't skip a beat and keeps his character's pain and rage constantly vivid in every detail - we feel it because we've somewhat experienced in our lives what it means to lose someone we love and feel lost afterward. We felt the struggle coming after the loss of a bond as strong as that one. That's why his performance is relentless and immaculate. Truth is that the genuine side of "Southpaw"'s plot is based on the main character's fall and his irreproachable route to stand up again, reach the top once more. Only this time, the fight has completely changed and the goals are different, goals that make us question what we really fight for in our life. You already know this story but not told under these terms. Hollywood has crafted good flicks about fighters/boxers in the last few years and "Southpaw" follows a line that is close to the more recent "Warrior", starring Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy due to its "underdog" screenplay. What makes this movie different from the rest is the ineluctable emotion that never departs and befalls us, stirring and stirring our inner feelings. We don't always need to criticize a movie for its predictability. "Southpaw" is predictable but it's also honest in assuming itself as such because its purpose - and I believe, Antoine Fuqua's purpose - is to divert our attention towards something more meaningful. And when a movie pierces the bone to reach our heart and soul with this impact, then it deserves our respect and acknowledgment. "Southpaw" is, quite simply, liberating.

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• Coming from a formulaic genre, Southpaw is a bit cliché but it surely brings powerful performances and a promising storyline

  condillon2015-07-24

  Southpaw follows Billy "The Great" Hope, the reigning junior middleweight boxing champion, having an impressive career, a loving wife and daughter, and a lavish lifestyle. However, when tragedy strikes, Billy hits rock bottom, losing his family, house and manager. He soon finds an unlikely savior in Tick Willis, a former fighter who trains the city's toughest boxers. With his future on the line, Hope fights to reclaim the trust of those he loves the most. Antoine Fuqua has most certainly brought his charm back into the ring by bringing a fascinating boxing drama to the big screen. Even though it may have a all to familiar plot when it comes to the formulaic boxing aspect, this film really smooths out well with such heavenly storytelling, we are given a accurate accusation of how something can affect someone in the hardest way possible. Jake Gyllenhaal giving a ferocious performance as a down on his luck boxer was truly a grand experience. He really stuck to his character by bringing such a mad man to the ring and a man who would strive to make his family a whole once again, one wondrous performance I must say. One person other than Jake that really stood out was Forest Whitaker, he easily gave one of the best performances of this year so far! The boxing scenes were so enthralling, they involved such wall-to-wall burst of punches with spraying blood and Fuqua's gutsy camera skills that keep you motived the whole time. Jake snorting like a mad bull, he surely brought out the horns to each opponent with a raging force, these scenes were just so highly entertaining that they made your heart pumping with such adrenaline. I was not bored at all with Southpaw, I was invested the whole time. Even with its clichés, the film surely beats them down with mighty performances by its lead and supporting cast and cosmic storytelling. The drama was foretold fluently with a good take at how a family can fall apart and reconnect in such a turn of events, I loved that, it flowed along so ideally with a strong tone. In the end, SP is surely a spellbinding film towards a strong man that doesn't get knocked down by what life has to swing at him!

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• You have seen this movie before

  DrZom-77-3886562015-08-29

  I guess there is just no new way of telling this story. A boxer on top of his world loses everything in the blink of an eye, then battles his way back. Every trite plot wrinkle is there. Every sympathy trigger is there. The writing is not bad. The story is as well told as it can be, but the story just does not need to be told again. Jake was great. His transformation from the pale, ghoulish "Nightcrawler" to a ripped pro boxer is startling. His portrayal of the punchy, brutal fighter on a journey of redemption is every bit as good as one could expect. Top marks for Jake. And the boxing scenes are as bloody as you could ask. So there are some good things in a very predictable movie. Overall, go ahead and watch it and enjoy it for what it is. Just don't expect anything new.

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• Gyllenhaal the Great

  3xHCCH2015-07-23

  Billy Hope is the light heavyweight champion of the world with a 43-0 record. One day, as a result of his uncontrollable violent temper, tragedy after tragedy hits him and his family until he is left with nothing -- not his fortune, not his career, not his family. Despondent and desperate to get his life back, Billy swallows his pride and seeks the assistance of trainer Tick Wills to train him back to fighting form. "Southpaw" is an acting showcase for its lead actor Jake Gyllenhaal. Last year in the film "Nightcrawler", Gyllenhaal gave us all the creeps with his very realistic portrayal of sociopathic pseudo-video journalist Louis Bloom. He was overlooked at the Oscars of the Best Actor nomination he clearly deserved. With this meaty role, Gyllenhaal set out to prove that that his transformative performance last year was not a fluke at all. His performance here as Billy Hope is another triumph of his very serious and committed method acting style. Here, Gyllenhaal again undergoes a total physical transformation into a grizzled prizefighter with a buff hardened physique, scarred face and swollen eye. We feel every ache of his weary body as he shuffles in his gait. His speech is already slurred with probable nerve damage. We see and sense the ravages of his vicious sport on him. He captured the character of an impulsive man who was not too savvy in life, and easily driven to violently angry tendencies. As Billy's world collapses around him, Gyllenhaal brings us all down to his hell with him. We totally see the unraveling of a man until a mere shadow of him remained. Then we would witness how he humbles himself as he tries to bring the shattered pieces of his life back together again. This was in addition to all the pounding he had in the boxing ring itself. This was truly an acting tour de force by Gyllenhaal which simply cannot be ignored. The actors in supporting roles all share in Gyllenhaal's shine. Despite her name being so prominent in the poster, Rachel McAdams appeared on screen only for a very short time. In that limited time, we clearly see the effect of her strong character Maureen on her husband Billy. Bespectacled little Oona Laurence plays their spirited daughter Leila. Gyllenhaal and Laurence share some pretty intensely emotional scenes together. Forest Whitaker plays Tick Wills, the tough disciplinarian of a trainer whom Billy chose to bring him back on track. I thought it was clever how they even include Whitaker's left eye into the story. Curtis "50 Cent" Smith plays Billy's fair-weather manager Jordan Mains. He really has this sleazy vibe about him with his flashy smile and shiny suits. Director Antoine Fuqua effectively wrung all the right emotions out of this story. The storytelling is well-paced and the camera work is compelling. The fight scenes were well-choreographed and executed on screen -- very brutal, bloody, all with high tension. The first person point of view during the fights puts you right in the midst of all the action. The musical score contributes so much to the drama of this film. This is also the last film James Horner scored before his untimely demise in a plane crash recently. We also hear Eminem rap in the soundtrack. It is interesting to note that Eminem was actually the original choice to play Billy Hope. Boxing is a common sport tackled in movies because of its inherent drama. "Rocky", "Raging Bull", "Million Dollar Baby" and "The Fighter" easily come to mind as among the best of them ever made. This is why we may feel we have seen this story In "Southpaw" told in another way before. However, the grippingly honest acting of Jake Gyllenhaal definitely set this film apart from others. He made "Southpaw" a most extraordinary boxing film to watch. 8/10.

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