Family Dynamics and Overcoming Addiction in the Film the Fighter - Research Paper Example

The Fighter: Family Dynamics, Overcoming Addiction, and Second Chances Hollywood audiences have had a long-standing long affair with boxing movies—from On the Waterfront and Raging Bull to Rocky and Cinderella Man. Now The Fighter, 2010 critical and popular success, based on the true story of Lowell, Ma native “Irish” Micky Ward’s struggle tortuous road to the top boxing title, has been added to the genre. With writing credits citing three authors, Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, most would wonder if too many coaches would ruin the strategy, however this rough-and-tumble story of strong family personalities, overcoming addiction, and second chances thrives from this multi-layered perspective. Director David O. Russell’s seamlessly interweaves HBO raw footage of an addiction documentary, intimate psychologically complex family scenes, boxing training and spares, and professional boxing matches. All these elements serve to create a visceral, emotional, artistic experience for audiences as the story is framed within reality, yet we feel privy to private, behind-the-scenes moments and well as competing character perspectives. To vary the film quality of the documentary, daily life and training, and the professional matches and create an aura of authenticity, Russell employed a variety of techniques. He recreated footage from the HBO documentary High on Crack: Lost Lives in Lowell using circa 1990-1 Datacams. He filmed on the actual streets of Lowell and surrounding neighborhoods capturing local life and people—their postures, dress, and Name 2 attitudes. While Amy Adams and Christian Bale, are not Boston-natives, casting Mark Wahlberg as the Micky Ward secured a natural Boston accent from an identifiable Bostonian. In an interview with James Bell, Russell comments, “We were saturated in the people and the place” (para. 16). During fight scenes, Russell played with depth and shadow to insure fight audiences were visible to add to the entire circus-like atmosphere of this movie’s boxing scenes. Russell instructed Swedish cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema to keep the actors’ faces red and sweaty to evoke the working-class atmosphere. Also, in capturing sporting scenes, Russell used the HBO Datacams and sports film crews to create an authentic use of angles and distances from actors to enhance the believability of the fight scenes. Russell also used long takes to for pivotal fight scenes as Wahlberg had trained to build up the stamina for this type of film work. All of these factors tightly intersect to strengthen the authenticity of the film, draw audiences into the Boston-oriented world of this family, and create cinematic variety balanced by overall visual cohesion. Since The Fighter was based on an actual family’s experience, part of the reception inevitably includes how the family members react to their screen portrayals and image. While Ward and his charismatic brother accepted the film, as evidenced by their short clip at the film’s conclusion, many of the sisters did not agree with actresses cast to play them nor with their interpretations as a loud, brash, excluding unit of women. Also, the dominant matriarch Alice, who acted as mother and boxing manager to her two sons, greatly disagreed with her portrayal in the film. While during interviews actress Melissa Leo respectfully focused on Alice’s pioneering efforts as woman working in the Name 3 masculine world of boxing and engineered Dicky’s iconic match with Sugar Ray Leonard, Alice still felt the movie showed her to be more interested in making money off her sons, particularly Micky, as well as turning a blind eye to Dicky’s crack addiction. In general, few critics or audience members expressed dislike for The Fighter. Robbie Collin from News of the World and Kevin A. Ranson from MovieCrypt.com both disparaged Bales performance as egocentric and overshadowing of Wahlberg’s main character. However, many critics found Bale performance in keeping with the self-centered Dicky’s personality as well as Micky’s quieter, selfless style. However, Russell explains that these characterizations are quite on the nose and that both Christian and Mark spent quality time with and watching footage of the people they were interpreting. This also includes understanding how the two brothers interacted. Alter notes, “Take Bale, for instance; freed from the somber action-hero persona he's adopted of late, the actor becomes a ball of nervous energy, his body constantly in motion and his mouth spitting out words as quickly as Micky throws punches. It's a live-wire, attention-grabbing” (para. 5). Of course, most people now know that both Christian Bale and Melissa Leo earned Best Supporting Oscars for their outstanding portrayals within The Fighter. This film that earned a 90% score from the Rotten Tomatoes website engages audiences with it’s boxing ring hubbub, shouting and fighting fans, bells ringing out the intense round time-locks, and the referee and announcers carrying audiences through ever swing, hit, and miss. However, beyond the buzz and the excitement of the moment, is this film Art? Does it possess and express artistic merit that will stand the test of time? Through Name 4 analyzing the film’s cinematic techniques, character evolutions, and perennially relevant social themes, The Fighter does indeed come across as working-class Art. Within the filmic space, Russell uses locations, overlapping sounds, and musical choices to bring the film together. The movie takes place within the training gym, Micky’s simple, functionally apartment, Alice’s living room, and the final match in England. As audiences learn of Micky’s desire to win the Atlantic City match against Saul Mambi, he states that he wants to get a bigger apartment so his daughter can spend more time with him. We learn of Micky’s love for his daughter and desire to be an active parent in her life as well as part of his motivation to accept the uneven, dangerous match again Mike Mungin. By viewing Micky’s apartment we understand how dedicated he is to boxing and how little he cares for his apartment that he hopes is merely transitory on his way to a boxing title. Another important use of locations occurs on Micky’s first date with Charlene. After losing the match to Mungin, the physically and emotionally battered Micky takes Charlene to the wealthy neighborhood Lexington for a movie. When she presses him whether or not he’s trying to hide her from a girlfriend, we learn that Micky truly is not a man to cheat on a woman and that he is quite sensitive about losing the match—he has his pride. Every setting and aspect of this film has a defined purpose to deepen characterization, intensify character interaction, and move the plot forward to Micky’s penultimate match. Centering pivotal scenes within Alice’s living room and kitchen demonstrates her maternal character’s power as the organizer of the family boxing interests. With the sister’s sitting as watchdogs during the family’s first meeting with the largely unwelcome Name 5 Charlene and later supporting their mother when Sal Lanano takes over as Micky’s manager, Alice ties her children and her men together into an uncommon family unit. Having nine children from three different fathers all living together like a clan within Lowell is not the vision of the average American family. Yet, Alice’s strong personality certainly adds artistic character depth and complexity to this film. Alice believes she shows equal love to all her children, but from this film adaptation, it becomes evident that Alice shows favoritism for her first-born son Dicky. She excuses his tardiness and enables his crack addiction as well as his self-inflated memory of his boxing match with Sugar Ray Leonard and his delusional belief in his ability to strike a boxing comeback. Many critics have noted that one of the strongest points of The Fighter rests within the family dynamics of the Eklund-Ward clan. Alice, Dicky, and Micky all undergo profound character arcs as they all struggle to make something meaningful come from their years of scrapping for a boxing world title. It is only once Alice watches the HBO addiction documentary on Dicky that she can confront her own enabling of his self-destructive lifestyle and later apologize to Micky for not supporting him equally in his boxing dreams. For his part, Dicky undergoes one of the most difficult changes a human can make—the road to recovery from addiction. Dicky’s 27th arrest, which led to Micky’s hand being broken by overzealous police officers, and viewing his son crying during the HBO documentary shakes Dicky from his ego-centric world of a fighter poised for a comeback to a man struggling with addiction and trying to maintain a place within his beloved brother’s life. It is only once Alice and Dicky put aside their own personal dreams to support Micky, who finally stands up for himself within his family, Name 6 that they all three can evolve to become “Prides of Lowell.” Strong character arcs, thoughtfully played out through tangible beats and experiences, offer a true hallmark of strong storytelling and artistic merit. While narrow–minded people might scoff at the world of boxing as regressive and violent, and question the large, diverse Eklund-Ward family unit, many moviegoers relate to the overall theme of second chances within this modern, underdog classic The Fighter. There isn’t a person in America or the world at large, living at this time or in the future, who doesn’t understand the passion and drive that fuels the effort at a second chance, at personal validation. Such an accessible theme freshened with the Lowell setting and the specific Eklund-Ward family dynamics serves to create a time-honored, yet unique film experience as both brothers follow their own paths to personal victory. Micky must find the personal strength to step away from his family who uses him more as a support for Dicky’s career in showing off Dicky’s training skills. Micky must struggle to become a man with his own recognizable identity as a fighter who is far more than just a stepping stone for other boxers and people, including family members, to use to pursue their own goals. For his part, Dicky must acknowledge his addiction, the fact the Sugar Ray Leonard tripped—and wasn’t knocked out by Dicky—, that his hey-day and chance for a boxing comeback have passed. Yet, Dicky can still achieve success within boxing and secure his relationship with his brother by subsuming his ego in favor of genuinely supporting Micky’s dream. Besides Dicky’s complex personality lending Bale the foundation for his Oscar-winning performance, Dicky also serves as a reminder of the ravages of and hope for addiction with The Fighter winning a 2011 Prism Award Name 7 for realistic portrayal of addiction in a film. Inspiring recovery from addiction and informing the public about its reality always offers makes a film or any piece of art socially and culturally relevant and beneficial. In conclusion, Alter comments that The Fighter “follows the standard boxing-movie formula, with the usual training montages, expressions of self-doubt and pre-fight locker-room rituals” (para. 7). But, what makes this film stand out and qualify as socially relevant art? The Fighter sets itself apart from other boxing films that focus on corrupt boxing politics, the possible injury and death in the ring, or racial issues. Instead, this film focuses on the rough-and-tumble, profanity loving Eklund-Ward family, Dicky’s triumph over crack addiction, and Micky’s search for his boxing identity out from under his brother’s shadow in a way that lets him evolve but still keep all of his family connected and together. *****Please include the photo of your choice and include the citation for the photo you choose. Here are three links for you to choose from: http://www.cinemaseries.es/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/The-Fighter_Pic61.jpg http://filmache.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/the-fighter-film-ache.jpg http://www.tribute.ca/tribute_objects/images/movies/The_Fighter/TheFighter.jpg Name 8 Works Cited: ADD PHOTO BIBLIOGRAPHY Alter, Ethan. “The Fighter.” Film Journal International. Vol. 114, Issue 1. Web. Jan 2011. Bell, James. “Shooting Into The Lights. Sight & Sound. Vol. 21 Issue 3, p18-19. Web. 20 Mar 2011. Bell, James and Kim Newman. “Blow by Blow.” Sight & Sound. Vol. 21, Issue 3, p. 14- 18. Web. 2011. Scott, A., O. “Guys, Kiss Mom and Come Out Fighting.” New York Times. New York Times. 9 Dec. 2010. Steinberg, Don. Why Boxing and Movies Go Together. Wall Street Journal. Vol. 256 Issue 120. Web. 19 Nov. 2011. Terbush, Sophie. ‘BlackSwan, ‘Madmen’ Nam Honors for Mental Health Portrayal. USA Today. USA Today. 1 May 2011. The Fighter. Dir. David O. Russell. Perf. Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. Mandeville Films,2010. Film. Read More