Southpaw Movie Review

In a summer that has been filled with action packed franchise oriented films, comes Southpaw to deliver a change of scenery. Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler, Prisoners) plays boxer and world light weight champion Billy Hope as he must recover after losing everything shortly after losing his wife unexpectedly.

Once his downward spiral leads to him losing legal custody of his daughter, Billy Hope finds help in former boxer and now trainer Tick Wills. As Billy gets his act together in an effort to get his daughter back he learns some very valueable lessons on the road to recovery.

What was supposed to be an unofficial 8 Mile sequel, quickly changed gears and became a masterpiece. Directed by Antoine Fuqua (The Equalizer, Olympus Has Fallen) as he delivered an (in my opinion) Oscar worthy film. With a beautiful plot (scroll down) written by Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy) and a great cast, he delivered what (also my opinion) may be his best film yet.

The Good:

1. The story

Southpaw had all of the ingredients for it to become sort of a modern day "Rocky experience."

The fighter, the wife, the kid, and the training staff; but it just turned out to be so much more than that. The plot was so grounded throughout the entire film. Never giving you that feeling of "okay, your life sucks and you're suffering, get over it." Instead you feel like you're there, feeling the pain, rooting for Billy Hope. Its one of those stories that inspires you, you put on his boxing shoes and imagine his loss and feel his pain. Personally, I feel like the character development of this movie was quite good with the exception of a couple people (we will talk about that in the bad).

2. Jake, Oona, and Forest Whitaker

Who would've thought that that akward teenager Sam from The Day After Tomorrow would be pulling roles such as this one. Jake Gyllenhaal has taken difficult role upon difficult role and it has only expanded his abilities. From losing weight to gaining weight back to losing weight again for this film it was just incredible to watch. What I love about his movies is how deep he goes in on his research and his dedication to develop his character and deliver it properly. Now onto Oona Laurence (Penny Dreadful, Lamb). This little girl gave one of the best performances I have seen from someone her age that has to portray the things that she does. In a part such as hers many actors and actresses would over-act that part thus dulling the effect and making it laughable and comical. But Oona did no such thing, she gave the right kinds of emotional and left a lot to the imagination (behind closed doors). I can honestly say that I look forward to following her career and I hope that she becomes something huge. And last but not least, (in my opinion) a legend, Forest Whitaker (Platoon, Lee Daniels' The Butler). This is a man with a long thirty-five year career and 109 films under his belt. Throughout this film it is like you can feel all of that experience and just how drained he must feel due to the fact that he's been doing this for a long time. But then comes Billy whom inject new life into this old soul and it creates a partnership that is just so beautiful to watch. All in all the chemistry that these character had with each other: Jake with Forest and Jake with Oola were essential to the way this movie made you feel.

3. The Camera Work

I am a self proffesed angle junkie. That is what I call it. I love going into films and paying attention to the little things, why did they choose to film this angle instead of that one? Wouldn't the other perspective look better? What about that lighting? etc... And I feel like this film had some very solid work. Although there are pleny of Boxing films, I am a huge Rocky fan (thanks Dad) and that is what I drew most of my cinematographic comparisons here. There were plenty of similarities between the way the Rocky films were shot and Southpaw, but Southpaw definitely changed the game with some of the in-fight shots. They literally went from making the audience just another spectator to being the one getting punched out and that was camera work that I could appreciate and applaud.

The Bad:

1. 50 and Rachel

As I saw someone say on twitter today, a movie featuring 50 Cent can only be but so good and sadly I agree. I hate to admit that before the movie began I had high hopes that 50 would grant us a performance we did not expect. But he did just what we expected if not less. His character had no weight and I would have been just fine if they had given the part to any other less established up and coming actor. And then there is Rachel McAdams (The Notebook, Mean Girls) whom I felt was an unnecessary casting choice. Make no mistake, she played her part well but anyone that had seen the trailer pretty much knew that she would be making an early exit. However, I sort of expected a decent amount of screen time whether it be dreams or flashbacks. I was disappointed because I feel like she was casted by name and fame. What I mean by this is she was cast because people know who she is from other films and that alone could intrigue a cerain population of the general audience. I just think (once again, MY opinion) that up and coming actors could be used in these parts to help them establish themselves but at the end of the day I guess the marketing side of the movie did their job well.

2. The Death Scene

I thought this could've been spoilery but then again, its in the trailer so I am going to talk about it. It just wasn't epic enough for me. (Does that sound sadistic of me?) I expected so much more fight so much more horror, so much more emotion from anyone else not named Jake or Rachel. This might be just me being picky but I was not too excited with the way the scene was acted out.

The Perfect Touch:

1. The Soundtrack

Just like I am a sucker for angles and shots (My grandfather is a photographer) I am also a sucker for soundtracks (My father is a musician). And let me also establish that I may be a bit biased considering I am a huge Eminem and anything he touches fan (so I was sold from the day the first trailer came out). Okay... with that said just keep an eye out for three sequences during the film that caught my ear. Numer uno: the very beginning, it was just a perfect start to a movie that promised to show a lot of heart and fight. Number two: the famous scene that every fight/dance/performance movie has, something I like to call the Rocky sequence. You know, the one where he finally starts training for the fight and he's running around Philly while Eye of the Tiger blasts, yeah that one. Instead here its Em debuting the song from the trailer and it just feels so in tune. And third but not least: the first song of the credits, I know its not a Marvel movie so there is no point in staying for the credits but I think the song is worth it and if you don't feel like staying, here's a link to the song. Enjoy!

Final Take

I feel like boxing. That is my final take. This movie had so much to give and I personally think it gave most of it. Could a couple of things been done differently, probably. But there are very few "perfect" films out there. This movie inspired me and it made me appreciate what i have and who I have. It is a perfect movie for a dinner-and-a-movie kind of date or a night out with your boys (or girls.... I guess). I definitely recommend watching this movie to all you universitarians out there!

Watched the movie already? Agree? Disagree? Have questions or theories? Let us know!! Email us at insidedormwalls@gmail.com!!