Boxing is a very well decorated sports sub-genre. You can list off a number of high-quality films from this category that have received high praise from the audience and been given a number of major awards. Two of them have even won Best Picture at the Oscars, Rocky and Million Dollar Baby. But nowadays, I think it's tough to make a really good one now. I feel it as a bit of a worn-out genre. There's not much else you can do different with it.
Now that I've seen Paddy Considine make and star in his own Boxing drama, the story certainly concentrates outside of the ring rather than in it. That's definitely a root that might refresh this genre.
But I felt to be really torn with this one in the end. It starts off with some potential. But I think the pacing of it and general look to it made it look pretty ordinary and dare I say more of a TV drama.
The second half does get better and by the end of it it was a heart-wrenching finale and that was all thanks to Considine.
Paddy Considine was great. It's hard to know what to think of his performance at first. But by the turn of the second half, that's when he truly shines and we get a couple of really emotional moments that did not have a dry eye in the house by the end of it.
Jodie Whittaker was a solid support and had great chemistry with Considine. But sadly, like with a lot of this film, her performance felt better suited to TV.
I've briefly mentioned this already, but the major problem I had with this film was that none of it felt cinematic. It felt more like an excellent one-off TV drama that would win many National TV awards. The story does fall into the trap of a what you expect in a TV movie, the forced themes and melodramatic presentation.
It is a real shame, because Considine's performance comes out really strong by the end of it and enhances everything around him.
Despite the high praise for his acting, there was very little exceptional content outside of that I'm afraid to say. After his incredibly powerful directing in Tyrannosaur, it pains me to say that this did feel disappointing. It's certainly made with good intentions and I think it is still worth seeing for Considine's acting. But maybe wait until you can access it from your home, as that seems to be where you get the best viewing experience.
Rating: 7/10
