Story: Boxer Billy Hope turns to trainer Tick Willis to help him get his life back on track after losing his wife in a tragic accident and his daughter to child protection services.
I have not been one for watching sports films but boxing films always seemed to draw me in, especially this one. With a strong cast that includes Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead and Rachel McAdams, Naomie Harris and Forest Whitaker in supporting roles, Southpaw gives us a strong character piece about a boxer whose faces extreme life troubles.
Antoine Fuqua crafts an excellent film here and I very much enjoyed how strongly he went for realism. The fights in the ring are truly the best parts of the film. There are moments when you really feel like cheering, like you are really watching a real game. The slow mode and p.o.v moments in the ring are fabulous. Southpaw would never have worked in another director’s hands.
The cast also raises the stakes, everyone gives their all. Starting with Miguel Gomez. He plays the stuck up boxer who seeks to take Jake’s spot at the top. Miguel sneers his way through his lines, acting cocky and giving one the impression that he wants what others have. Boxer Victor Ortiz (Expendables 3) makes an appearance as one of Jake’s trainers. Its a small part but he adds a little humour. Naomie Harris appears as child protective services Angela Rivera. As always she is fantastic in the role, adding a sincerity and caring attitude to the role while also having a hard shell. She’s just great to watch in anything she does. A real standout is the chemistry with Jake and Oona. Oona Laurence plays Billy’s daughter and she gives a surprisingly strong performance. She even goes as far as actually full on hitting Jake in one scene. Oona portrays Leila with true heart and emotion and digs deep into her character, really discovering what Leila is going through. Curtis “50 Cent”, Rachel McAdams, Forest Whitaker and Skylan Brooks fill out the rest of the supporting cast as friends, fans, family and trainers, Forest is particularly strong here in a role quite possibly fit for Denzel but Forest adds knocks it out of the part adding history to the character and world weariness. Rachel is strong as well, playing Billy’s wife, and she nails the Boston accent as well. Curtis has come a long way from his old rapper days and I feel he’s become a confident actor, same with new comer Skylan Brooks who isn’t in the film long but plays his part well as an idolizer of Billy’s.
As far as story goes its an intense and riveting tale of one man’s journey to learning to take control of his life. Leading me to almost forget about Jake Gyllenhaal. Southpaw would never have worked without him. Having done Nightcrawler and earning tons of critical acclaim Jake can now do no wrong as his portrayal of Billy Hope through his life’s struggles in and out of the ring are immensely impressive. He is by far the greatest actor of our generation and puts everything into the role. He is so intense its scary.
I really enjoyed Southpaw, and there aren’t many sports/boxing movies I really love, The Fighter with Mark Wahlberg and Melissa Leo, and Warrior with Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton just to name a few.
Southpaw is also one of the final films composed by the great James Horner. I was very happy to see a title card at the end dedicating the film to his memory. James had seen the film before he died and was originally not considered as Antoine was on a budget, so, what I have heard, James did Southpaw for free and payed for the orchestra out of his own pocket. And why did James do it, because at the core of Southpaw it is about a man becoming a caring and responsible father for the thing he loves most, his daughter.
Rating: A+
