Boxer Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) is the reigning middleweight champion of the world and he has everything you could ever imagine in life. He has a beautiful wife (Rachel McAdams) and a loving daughter (Oona Laurence), a big home with loyal friends, and enough money to make up for his tough upbringings in the foster program. When tragedy strikes his family and he spirals into a terrible place in life, he’s got to fight twice as hard to get his life and family back, all with the help of once coach Tick Willis (Forest Whitaker).
Southpaw is every bit enjoyable as it is frustrating, as characters and storylines turn from predictable to messy. Most of the work behind the camera is to fault for the film’s shortcomings, but its actors and the emotional connections established help keep this boxing film on its toes. Most boxing films follow a pretty familiar plot progression and this film is no different, adding only a few new beats to the down-on-his-luck boxer who has to fight to get it all back. With ringside action galore and another great performance from its lead actor, Southpaw does manage to do more good than bad.
Jake Gyllenhaal continues his winning streak of mental and physical roles which challenge him as an actor and prove that he’s one of the most talented in the industry. Having been snubbed for Nightcrawler last year, Gyllenhaal underwent a large physical transformation and slight mental degradation to play a boxer who’s been through the ringer. He’s not a very educated man, evident in his speech, and his temper is hotter than hell. He inflicts just as much pain as he takes, but it’s life at home which keeps him motivated; his daughter in particular. Gyllenhaal taps into the mind of a desperate father and works incredibly hard to return balance to his life, gracing the audience with another defining performance from the wonderful actor. It’s not his greatest work, but it’s still a performance you shouldn’t miss from him.
Forest Whitaker gives a fantastic supporting performance in this film, despite being stuck with all the undeveloped and vague dialogue that he’s given. Bridging the gap between friend and mentor, Whitaker helps bring Gyllenhaal back from disparity as he gets him back to learning the basics. Both characters are very similar in the fact that they’re both uneducated men trying to be mentors for people younger than them. They both have a set of people the want to help and one scene in particular really emphasizes the world these men live in. It’s a tragic and touching scene between the two men as they sit against the ring and wonder why so much evil exists in our world. Whitaker commands the films emotion and gets the audience more invested in the overall story.
The most surprising and impressive performance in this film comes from Oona Luarence, who’s portrayal of a child hanging in the balance of her father’s care is both heartbreaking and beautiful. Her dedication to to the film is evident in the tears of sadness and joy that she brings, along with the ever changing attitude that shifts as the story does. McAdams is great when she’s on-screen, but there’s not nearly enough time spent with her character. There is a fair amount of time spent on boxing (as one should expect) and I was really impressed with how authentic every fight looked and sounded. I’m not sure how much fighting Gyllenhaal actually did, but it looked like he threw and took every powerful punch in the film.
The biggest issue that Southpaw faces is that it doesn’t know what kind of story it’s trying to tell. Director Antoine Fuqua and writer Kurt Sutter have a million different ideas about each aspect of this film and they don’t come together all that well, unfortunately. Outside of the main storyline, there are bits and pieces of the movie that only exist for a moment and then we’re just supposed to forget they happened and move on. Most every part of the film unfolds the way you’d expect it to and there aren’t that many surprises as to what happens by the end of the film. Of all the problems, the script is certainly the film’s weakest link, as the dialogue becomes such a problem as the film progresses. Vague, empty, and pandering dialogue doesn’t do anyone any good, especially when we’re supposed to be taking this film so seriously.
Southpaw is still an enjoyable and intense time at the movies, but it all doesn’t come together the way it should in the end. Jake Gyllenhaal continues to be a dedicated and hard-working actor, showing us new range that we hadn’t seen before. He’s almost frightening at times and you can tell just how hard he and the other actors worked for this film. Fans of boxing will be enthralled by the brutal fighting sequences, but I can’t help but feel that everyone will leave the theater having hoped for a bit more.
