I was originally meant to see Southpaw on my birthday. Being a Jake Gyllenhaal film I should have seen it on it's opening day, but my bestie came down for my birthday weekend and that night we had tickets to see Bradley Cooper in The Elephant Man, so Southpaw was pushed back to my birthday. Only 2 days after release, I could live with that.
On the day, the weather was terrible so we holed ourselves up in the cinema and watched Labyrinth (being shown at our local independent cinema) and Inside Out (as it's tradition to watch a Pixar film on my birthday) and when that had finished we were all tired and wanted to get home. So no Southpaw for me. Eventually I managed to see Southpaw last Thursday along with Mission Impossible and Minions. Bit of an odd triple bill to say the least.
The movie is about successful boxer Billy Hope (Gyllenhaal) who loses his wife Maureen (Rachel McAdams) in a tragic accident, when another boxer challenges him at a charity event. He loses a lot more than Maureen when in the process of grieving for his wife, he crashes his car whilst under the influence. His house, his possessions and his daughter are all then taken from him in quick succession. Billy finds himself literally on the ropes and trying to get his life back together.
The trailer for the movie gives a lot away, but at the same time sets the film up as being a very gritty and really quite violent piece of cinema. When in reality, at it's core, this is a film about family. It's a film about losing sight of who you are and finding the strength to get back to being that person. Gyllenhaal gives one of the best performances of his career. Yet again becoming the character so completely that you don't see him anymore, you just see Billy. Struggling father and athlete. You will have probably all heard that this is "the best boxing movie since Raging Bull" so I won't harp on about the actual boxing scenes, but they are very realistic and you can tell that everyone involved worked hard to make them so.
I was also pleasantly surprised by Forest Whitaker. In the past I have found his performances a little hit and miss. Sometimes he's great and other times (more often than not) he can be quite over the top. His achievement here was to put in a grounded and believable performance, and his inclusion in the movie added an acting heavyweight to the ensemble rather than detracting from it.
I was also pleasantly surprised by Forest Whitaker. In the past I have found his performances a little hit and miss. Sometimes he's great and other times (more often than not) he can be quite over the top. His achievement here was to put in a grounded and believable performance, and his inclusion in the movie added an acting heavyweight to the ensemble rather than detracting from it.
I'm only sorry that I've been so busy lately that this review has been on the back burner. It looks like this movie might have already left most cinemas, and with Mission Impossible Rogue Nation coming out, it has probably done so too soon for a lot of people to see it. If it is still on at a cinema near you though, and if you're a fan of the realistic boxing movie, or of an unexpected family drama, do go and see Southpaw. 8 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 30th July 2015
UK Release Date - 24th July 2015
Cast Overview:
Jake Gyllenhaal ~ Billy Hope
Rachel McAdams ~ Maureen Hope
Rachel McAdams ~ Maureen Hope
Forest Whitaker ~ Tick Wills
Oona Lawrence ~ Leila Hope
50 Cent ~ Jordan Mains
Director ~ Antoine Fuqua
Writer ~ Kurt Sutter
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