SOUTHPAW

GRADE: B
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Forrest Whittaker, Rachel McAdams, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and Oona Laurence
Written by Kurt Sutter
Directed by Antoine Fuqua
Rated R (violence, profanity)
Reviewed by Paul Gibbs and Patrick Gibbs

No genre is more bound by the rules of formula and convention than the sports movie, and the boxing movie may be the most of all. It's the perfect movie sport: there is a clear, singular protagonist literally fighting against an opponent. The rules are easy enough for anyone to follow, and the stakes and intensity are immediate and high.

Rocky set the standard for the modern boxing film, and then Raging Bull set the standard even higher. While tonal;y most films of the genre are owe more to Stallone and John G. Avildsen, if you watch the first two Rocky movies back to back you will see how much even Stallone owes to Martin Scorsese, as Rocky II's fight sequences are much more brutal and realistic, combing visual techniques, sound effects and bodily fluids to make the fight more intense and violent.  Director Antoine Fuqua, fresh off arguably the best film of his career with last summer's The Equalizer, is to some extent trying to make both movies here, which is to say that he's making a Rocky sequel formula redemption in the ring movie with R-Rated, Raging Bull grittiness and sensibilities, which can be an uneven mix at times. The movie bobs and weaves between the harshness of reality and the kind of silly moments that only happen in the movies (has a young, unestablished challenger EVER actually shown up to a press conference to goad the reigning champ into giving him a shot in real life?), but ultimately Fuqua and his cast do both well enough that the contrivances and lack of trying to be groundbreaking are largely forgivable.

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Billy Hope, the Rocky/Raging Bull duality of the film: it's outrageous enough to rival Apollo Creed's death at the hands of Ivan Drago, but the gritty intensity of the sequence is palpable and involving. Soon, Billy's finances fall apart and his fitness as a parent is called into question, separating him from Leila. Billy goes to a down and out trainer named Tick Wills (Forrest Whittaker) to train to get back his title, become a better person and be reunited with Leila.

All of this is so formulaic that it's downright insulting to the audience's intelligence, yet the movie works because of Fuqua's strong direction and especially the uniformly strong performances from a great cast. Gyllenhaal and McAdams seem to struggle briefly with the sloppy diction of their Beverly Hoodbilly characters, but quickly settle inot and give the movie everything they've got and then some. For McAdams this gives a chance to show a versatility which has seemed to elude the talented actress in the past, and for Gyllenhaal it's a potent and multi-layered performance that drives the entire film. Whittaker gives the film a needed sense of soul, and young Oona Laurence feels so authentic in her emotions that it sometimes makes moments of the film hard to watch. Fuqua's direction also ranks among his most accomplished, both visually and dramatically. His career has been inconsistent but he seems to finally be settling into his own creative voice, and to knowing what exactly constitutes an Antoine Fuqua film.

In the end, how much you enjoy Southpaw will depend on your tolerance both for harsh content and cliched formula. The second cuts into the ability for some to enjoy it, and the first keeps it from being a great film. But for fans of quality acting, and those who can get sucked into the excitement of a formula boxing film, there is much to enjoy here.