Southpaw (Blu-ray) – Movie Review
Rocky paved the way when it comes to boxing movies, and even today new movies with Sylvester Stallone are being released in the boxing theme. Nonetheless, while Rocky won’t be entering the ring anymore, thanks to Creed it was clear that these movies were still a thing especially seeing another contender showed up in the ring, namely Southpaw. Jake Gyllenhaal might not immediately strike you as the boxing type, but after a few captivating right and left hooks, we were pulled into an intriguing drama with very interesting fight scenes.
Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) has had a rough life, as he grew up in an orphanage, and soon after ended up committing several crimes, but luckily his wife, Maureen (Rachel McAdams), who also grew up in an orphanage, set his life on track. Billy Hope ended up becoming the lightweight boxing champion of the world, who has been undefeated for 43 fights in a row. While everything seemed rather peachy, trouble is brewing when Maureen asks Billy to slow down, especially seeing he was beaten badly during his last fight. His wife convinces him, but this is not to Billy’s trainer, Jordan Mains’ (Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson) liking, as he was able to secure a humongous contract for Billy for three upcoming fights, which would be broadcasted on HBO. Not only Jordan is becoming malcontent, but there has been one challenger Billy never fought yet, Miguel Escobar (Miguel Gomez), who has been turning up at several events causing a ruckus. When Miguel shows up at a charity event, challenging Billy, things get out of hand and a fight breaks loose. While Billy and Miguel are born fighters, their entourage isn’t, which causes a lot of panic and it ends up with someone pulling a gun and Maureen accidently gets hit. Of course, this movie wouldn’t be a sobby story if Maureen did not die in Billy’s arms.
With the tragic loss of his wife, Billy loses control and ends up losing his first fight when Jordan drags him back into the ring. Not only his career ended, but also his money is draining rapidly and even though his loving daughter Leila (Oona Laurence) means the world to him, Billy is constantly drunk, on drugs and suicidal. When he drives his car into a tree on his own property, his daughter calls 911 and Billy ends up in the hospital. It’s a given that child protective services don’t want him to live with his daughter anymore, until he can prove he is a fit parent, who is able to maintain a job, handle his substance abuse and manage his anger issues. As Billy has to sell his house and is suspended from doing professional fights, he ends up at Tick Wills’ (Forest Whitaker) doorstep, in the middle of a shady neighborhood. Tick Wills’ manages a small gym, keeping kids of the streets, as he was once a great boxer and trainer but he gave up his own professional tendencies a long time ago. Nonetheless, Billy can start off as a janitor, while he trains a bit on the side.
Seeing the movie’s duration is slightly longer than the two hour mark, information is being spread rather slowly, setting the right mood. Of course, there are enough boxing scenes thrown into the mix to keep things interesting for those who are looking for the best of both the drama and sports genre. While you’ll have to be in the mood for a movie such as this one, seeing the content and topics handled are rather heavy, you’ll never find a dull moment in this tale of pain, loss and rebirth.
Acting performances in this movie are stellar to say the least but there’s only one bother throughout the entire movie. While Jake plays the ideal boxer, who lost it all, spiraling downwards in a pool of booze and drugs, his ‘twitchy and dazed’ behavior lasts the entire movie, making him sometimes a bit of a drag to look at, whilst he actually portrays his character perfectly. One very honorable mention goes to the young Oona, who plays Billy’s daughter, and steps away from the stereotypical annoying child actress. Oona plays her role elegantly and most of all convincingly, making it seem like what she’s going through is more than simply working through her lines.
Sadly, the eOne Blu-ray release comes without any special features. While it would have been nice to see the rigorous training Jake must have gone through to get as ripped as he was during the movie, as well as handle the boxing scenes so fluently, the movie stands well on its own.
Conclusion
Southpaw is a great movie that mingles sport with drama, showing how one man was fighting while his family happily waited at home, whilst the next moment he was fighting to cope with his loss and get what’s left of his family back. You’ll be immediately sucked into the life of Billy Hope, who had lost hope once, but in the end, hope was all he had left.
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