For those that live in the shadow of their siblings, this is the movie for you to go see. For those that don’t have such a problem, this is still the movie for you to see. From the very first moment, Christian Bale enhances his Oscar credentials by giving a gripping performance in this true story of a man’s will to win that immediately ropes you in and doesn’t let go until the final bell is rung.
Struggling boxer Mickey Ward’s (Mark Walhberg) career can’t seem to get going due to constantly being screwed over by the irresponsibility of his drug addicted older brother and local boxing legend Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale) and his mother Alice (Melissa Leo). Tied down by his allegiance to his family but going nowhere fast, Mickey’s life and career take a drastic change after the introduction of Charlene (Amy Adams). She sees that in order for him to succeed, he must first overcome his biggest hurdle which is his family. Her love and belief in him makes him believe that not only can he succeed but maybe he can finally step out from Dicky’s shadow.
The entire cast delivers a powerful performance which has been rightfully rewarded with Oscar nominations, even though Walhberg has wrongly been overlooked. The one thing that has to be said is that those looking for a boxing movie might be disappointed as this is more about fighting against a dysfunctional family in pursuit of a dream and even though the boxing is the theme, it is not the heart and soul of the movie that drives it on.
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