You know by now how much I love “The Fighter” for its odd, jangly fusion of heightened realism and rah-rah studio formula, so it’s never struck me as particularly important how fact-faithful it remains in striking the balance. Still, I rather liked this video, which breaks down not only the liberties the film takes with the truth — but the unexpected loyalties too. As someone who knows slightly less about boxing than I do about aeronautical engineering, I was impressed to note the attention to physical detail in Mark Wahlberg’s under-appreciated performance. (Thanks to Craig Skinner for the link.)
Also worth passing along is the SoundWorks Collection profile of the film. Have a look at that after the jump.
Comments
7 responses to “Life versus art in ‘The Fighter’”
As a Boxing fan; and watcher of many of Mickey Ward’s fights; Mark Wahlberg had his signiture “left hook” down to a tee.
As dramatic as that Neary fight seemed on film; believe it or not; it was close to that in real life. Super exciting Boxing match.
As a boxing fan, I wished the film would’ve ended with the first Gatti-Ward fight. But eh, you can’t have everything. Round 9 of that fight puts even all the fights in the Rocky movies to shame.
As an art fan, it sounded pretty darned nitpicky (chewing gum. really?)
Apologies to anyone who read this post earlier and thought it gibberish — a bunch of weird typos throughout.
As an art fan, I think that the gum would have gone a long way in making the Amy’s character more distinctive.
And sorry to blow your bubble but as a pun fan, I don’t think that paying attention to gum is a big stretch as it is a big sticking point. Chew on that.
Your ex-spearmint in puns is admirable, Maxim.
Hmmmmmmmm, interesting find Guy. I already thought this movie was pretty respectable/quite solid, but this has increased my appreciation for it greatly.