The Fighter is based on the true story of Micky Ward, a champion welterweight boxer. The story follows the period of his life before his success. The focus is on Micky dealing with his personal struggles, mainly from his own family which includes his mother, his older brother and his seven sisters. Micky (Mark Wahlberg) lives in the shadow of his brother Dicky (Christian Bale) both personally and in the eyes of everyone around him. His brother’s former glory included knocking down Sugar Ray Leonard in the seventies. Since then he has fallen into drugs which has had a negative effect in his life and ability to train his brother. He is still seen as the pride of the neighborhood and Micky still clearly looks up to him, despite his problems. To make matters worse, Micky’s mother Alice (Melissa Leo) is his manager and seems considerably less interested in his well-being than in the money earned from his fights as seen when she and Dicky convince Micky to fight someone twenty pounds heavier than him (to expectedly disastrous results). Things turn around after he meets Charlene (Amy Adams) and starts wining fights.
The narrative structure of the film is basically identical to every other boxing film. The down and out fighter who overcomes his personal demons in order to rise to the top is certainly a familiar story, and a lot of what you would expect to see in a boxing film is very present here. There is a clear comeback scene, there is a training montage, and the title of each fight is displayed on-screen before every match. There is definitely nothing new here in terms of story-telling and form. The boxing scenes are pretty standard as well, though director David Russell does make them a bit more interesting by shooting them with television quality cameras in order to make it seem more realistic. In terms of story and plot, there isn’t much to distinguish it from other boxing films like Rocky and Cinderella Man.
What makes The Fighter really worth seeing is the incredible casting of the supporting cast. That’s not to say that Mark Wahlberg gives a bad performance, but he is almost completely overshadowed by others in the cast such as Melissa Leo and especially Christian Bale. Micky is very reserved and passive, which is what allows his family to walk all over him. Dicky is the complete opposite. Christian Bale gives one of his best performances to date as the drugged addicted brother of Micky. The transformation into this character is remarkable. Incredibly thin with bad teeth and a bald spot, Christian Bale is almost unrecognizable. He so completely dominates the screen that all of his scenes become the most interesting in the film. His interactions with the other characters are often more engaging than the boxing matches. It’s a very loud and energetic performance that it is easy to see why Micky would go unnoticed next to his brother. When they’re together he is hardly able to speak. He is constantly reminding everyone of his glorious fight with Sugar Ray Leonard to the point of self-delusion. Melissa Leo gives another great performance in this film as the mother. She adores Dicky to the point of blinding herself to his obvious drug addiction and doesn’t seem to notice the pressure and lack of attention she gives to Micky. Amy Adams is also good as Charlene, showing some range as a more tough-girl character than her usual ones. Despite how familiar it may feel, The Fighter works well as an inspirational boxing film. It’s an uplifting story and features some terrific acting.