Southpaw Movie Review (Spoiler Free)

How Rocky met 8 Mile. A dramatic tale of a boxer's downfall and his fight back to stardom. It couldn’t get more raw and emotional than this! 

Genre: Drama / Sport

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, Forest Whitaker, Oona Laurence, 50 Cent, Naomie Harris, Miguel Gomez, Rita Ora, Beau Knapp & Skylan Brooks

Run Time: 123 min.

US Release: 24 July 2015

UK Release: 24 July 2015

German Release: 20 August 2015

Hello everybody, I apologise for not having written for some time, but I have been busy with a couple of other things last week. I did manage to catch a screening of Southpaw last night and decided to pick up my movie reviews again with one of the two boxing movies we’re getting this year. I really enjoyed this film, even though there were a couple of things I did not appreciate about it, but overall, it is a solid boxing-themed motion picture.

Southpaw did not win critics over during its release. On Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, it obtained mixed to average reviews. The overall critics’ consensus was that it used too many clichés and did not truly deliver during its dramatic moments. I could not disagree more. Even though I can confirm that the overall enjoyment is dragged down by the amount of platitudes used, it is also the way they handle those clichés that elevates the film from mediocre to good.

The movie follows the professional and family life of middleweight boxing champion Billy Hope (Gyllenhaal). When tragedy strikes, his self-destructive downward spiral not only costs him his title, but he also loses his boxing license, his money, his home, and the custody of his daughter Leila (Oona Laurence). Billy now needs to prove that he is able to take care of himself and his daughter if he ever wants to see her again, and restarts his career from scratch with his new coach, Tick Wills (Whitaker).

Originally written for rapper Eminem to play the role of Billy Hope, the film was dropped and picked up again by three or four studios. When The Weinstein Company finally obtained the rights as distributor and green-lit the project, it was decided that Jake Gyllenhaal would play the lead role. A good decision, as I don’t believe that Eminem would have managed to depict Billy Hope’s struggle as realistically as Gyllenhaal did.

Southpaw is filled with the typical boxing movie clichés: a successful boxer leading a good life is hit by tragedy, his life spirals out of control, and he finally needs to clean up his mess to get back where he was. That is one of the problems I had with the film: it was nothing new, as we’ve seen these types of flicks again and again. Still, thanks to the magnificent direction and brilliant acting, those banalities are depicted slightly differently.

My biggest issue with the movie was the uneven storytelling. We don’t really get to see much of Hope’s self-destructive tendencies that lead him to lose his money and daughter. I also felt like his depressive phase was rushed and not truly explored.

Other than that, the movie was fantastic. It did not focus that much on the sport of boxing, but rather on the life and psyche of Billy Hope and his relationship with his daughter. The drama in this film overwhelmed me and had me close to tears. It was heartbreaking to watch, without being off-putting. The boxing aspect of the movie looked very real; the choreography was perfect and believable. (I have a friend who practices mixed martial arts and boxing, and said the fight scenes looked like real boxing matches.)

Jake Gyllenhaal is simply incredible. If you’ve seen any of his movies as of late, you’ll have noticed that he ceases to be himself and completely immerses himself in the character. He gained twelve kilograms of lean muscle and had extensive training with boxing coach Terry Claybon. On screen, I did not see the actor, but Billy Hope, the boxer.

Oona Laurence is a fantastic child actress. She is absolutely professional and was very natural and real in this film. She and Gyllenhaal had amazing chemistry as father and daughter. This was also Rachel McAdams’s best cinematic work since her role as Irene Adler in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

One of my favourite characters in this film was Hope’s coach and mentor, Tick Wills, played by Forest Whitaker. He is to Hope what Mickey Goldmill was to Rocky, but with more emotional depth. Whitaker blew me away, and I was happy to see him act again in a good movie.

Cinematography-wise, this movie was a treat. The colour and lighting always fit the tone of the film. At the beginning, it was dark yet glittery, foreshadowing tragedy. When tragedy hits, it changes to a darker, grittier scheme, and by the end (the “clean-up act,” as I like to call it), it turns again to a lighter, warmer colour palette.

The boxing matches were filmed brilliantly. There are no close-ups and no use of shaky cam. Wide angles were utilised for the fights, making them look like real broadcasts. There are also beautifully shot POV angles during the boxing matches.

The music, composed by James Horner, was for the most part quiet and melancholic. Like the cinematography, it fit perfectly with Southpaw’s atmosphere. It never intruded or distracted from the film itself. The training sequence, however, features an Eminem song that is just perfect for those scenes.

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Verdict: Southpaw is not without its flaws, but it convinces overall with a beautiful tale of a boxer and his daughter. Jake Gyllenhaal did an amazing job portraying Billy Hope, and I was truly impressed by child actress Oona Laurence. I will give this movie a rating of 8.0 out of 10.

So, what did you think of Southpaw? Have you seen it, and if you did, did you enjoy it? For all of you who are interested, I will write my review for Straight Outta Compton tomorrow and post it online sometime in the afternoon. Leave a comment below and, as always, thank you for reading.