What Do The Critics Say?
"I'm a sucker for a good sports movie, add Christin Bale in a Oscar worthy performance, Amy Adams and Mark Wahlberg and you can't go wrong. Great cast, good story makes it one of the year's best. Wahlberg gives one of his best performances ever. Christian Bale once again totally immerses himself into a role. A story we’ve seen before, right? Not Quite! The Fighter is, in fact unique."
Michelle Alexandria ECLIPSE MAGAZINE
"The entire cast of actors is excellent in this film. The boxing scenes are very convincing."
Robert Roten LARAMIE MOVIE SCOPE
"Christian Bale and Melissa Leo are amazing trainwrecks that demand to be watched."
Jeff Bayer THE SCORECARD REVIEW
"While Wahlberg is perfectly credible and naturalistic, it is the wafer-thin Bale who steals the show. He puts in a quite unforgettable performance, and a manic one too, as Dickie has been addicted to crack for years. Bale steals the show with his unforgettable performance in this absorbing and bruising drama. It's a curious and absorbing drama, often violent and not only inside the ring and well worth catching."
Mark Demetrius FILMINK
"Christian Bale is the greatest actor of his generation. Can't say enough. His performance is genius."
Mike Scott TIMES-PICAYUNE NEW ORLEANS
"The best thing about The Fighter is: No, no; it's just too hard to choose."
Nathaniel Rogers FILM EXPERIENCE
I suspect that over time The Fighter will accrue a cult following among boxing aficionados as a rare film that got the sport they love right. "The Fighter" belongs to Bale, who will almost certainly get an Oscar nomination for his performance, and deservedly so. I would say he's unforgettable as Dickie Eklund."
Matt Singer IFC
"The Fighter, stirring and unshakable, is never as merciless and emotional, as traumatic and triumphant, as when the gloves are off. Director David O. Russell: marking his best film since Three Kings; elevates The Fighter well out of the realm of sports movie cliches. You can pick your fights, but not your family."
Kevin Williamson JAM! MOVIES
"A crowd pleaser and an Oscar baiter. Bale gives one of the great performances of the year."
Devin Faraci CHUD
"Give Christian Bale and Melissa Leo the Oscar right now! Amy Adams nails her role. The movie is not just about fighting. The Fighter easily contains one of the best acting ensembles of the year. It is also about family and how important loved ones are."
Kevin McCarthy BDK REVIEWS
"David O. Russell directs this funny and sad film about a promising boxer, Micky, and the older brother who's usually more trouble than he's worth, with unfussy efficiency. With characters as colorful as these and a cast as good as this, it's best to just let the story and actors work their show. A vastly entertaining boxing tale featuring championship bouts from Christian Bale and Melissa Leo."
John Wirt ADVOCATE
"The Fighter is funny, ferocious, sad, sweet, pulpy, and violent. Sometimes, all in the same minute."
Steven Rea PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
"As scrappy and tough as most of its big-mouthed characters. The money performance is Adams."
Matt Pais METROMIX
"It's audacious, it's fun, it's rowdy, and it's just twisted enough to always be interesting. Beyond that, it's one of the year's best acting showcases and likely to grab multiple Oscar nominations. 'The Fighter' packs the ring with superb acting, a surprise plot and rowdy fun. Grand entertainment."
Tom Long DETROIT NEWS
The Inside Story
The story of Micky Ward's hard rise and unexpected transformation into a sports legend was such a gritty, real-life fairy tale that many people who heard about it remarked that it sounded just like a movie. Bringing the story to the screen would take nearly as much passion, devotion and hard work on the part of a whole team of filmmakers as to match Micky's own bid for a championship title. What excited producers Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman was that it was also about the invincible bonds between brothers and a family's quest for redemption. Those elements made the story worth fighting for, say the producers. "We got involved in "The Fighter" when screenwriters Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson brought us a fifteen minute DVD on the lives of Dicky Eklund and Micky Ward," Hoberman ("Eight Below") explained. "When my partner Todd and I watched it, we were in tears. It's a story of overcoming the odds, of redemption in the face of adversity, and that's the kind of story we love to do. We asked them right away if we could partner with them and they said yes." Lieberman ("Wild Hogs") adds: "I must have watched that DVD five hundred times. It was truly inspiring to learn about the story of these two brothers and what they overcame throughout the years. We felt it had a lot of parallels in terms of its mix of drama, redemption and brotherly love." The story would take three years and a fighting spirit on the part of the filmmakers to get to the screen. Mark Wahlberg ("National Board of Review") had long wanted to make a movie about Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund. Hoberman and Lieberman ("The Proposal") were thrilled to team up with Wahlberg and director David O Russell (Independent Spirit Award winner for "Spank The Monkey") spurred the production into a 'rough and ready', fast-paced production schedule that immersed the cast full bore into their characters and the crew into the world of blue-collar boxing in America. "Clearly, he was going to be the perfect Micky Ward," Hoberman ("Beverly Hills Chihuahua") notes. "From the moment we started enquiring into the story, we knew that Mark wanted to play Micky. Micky had always been one of his heroes and he knew this story as well as anyone," Lieberman ("The Lazarus Project") recalls. Having worked with Wahlberg twice before, including on the critically acclaimed 1999 Iraq War thriller, "Three Kings", everyone was excited to see what Russell's notably creative perspective could bring to The Fighter's mix of visceral sports drama and emotionally exposed family portrait. "The great thing about David is that he's so passionate about everything he does and he's not afraid to fall in love with ideas and things and people. I think it's what makes him such a terrific director,"Hoberman stated. "I've known David for a couple of years now and we had looked at working together. As soon as I sat down with him, I saw and heard his passion for the movie," 2009 Hollywood Film Festival Producer Of The Year, Ryan Kavanaugh offered. "He was approaching it from a very artistic point of view, but understood that this was a commercial story. We told him to keep the heart and soul, but that we needed more "Rocky" out of it. He gave us everything we wanted and then some." Russell ("Flirting with Disaster") also saw "The Fighter" as a love story. He approached it not only as Micky and Dicky's story as brothers, but also as the story of Micky's quest to reconcile his tight-knit family to the woman he loves, and he put the collision course between Charlene and the family at the center of the narrative. He notes: "is about people who are really human, all too human, like every one of us."
To write the first drafts of the script, screenwriters Paul Tamasy (who produced the film as well) and Eric Johnson (who also serve as executive producers), spent lots of time in Lowell, interviewing everyone connected with the story, which turned out to be a good portion of the community. In the 1920's Lowell, long a major East Coast manufacturing center, forged on the bedrock of hard-working immigrants, had experienced a downturn as its mills and factories began shutting down. Meanwhile, boxing became an outlet for a lot of the town?s young men and the ring became one last place they could still hope to hit it big. "There were something like thirty boxing gyms at one time in Lowell," Johnson explained. "It was seen as a way into a better life and out of poverty. After the mills closed, there was such high unemployment, boxing became a kind of opportunity." Tamasy notes that the Ward/Eklund family came across as the quintessential Lowell clan. "They're very representative of the town in how tight they are and how much they believe that, no matter what, family is an anchor," he said. After an initial draft from Johnson and Tamasy, Russell continued working with screenwriter Scott Silver, who earlier penned the Detroit-set drama "8 Mile" starring Eminem, to give the brothers story additional layers of grit and comic bite. As production approached, it became a bottom-line priority to Russell to involve the entire Ward/Eklund family, and the town of Lowell, in the process which, in turn, he says added a daily dose of real-life inspiration to cast and crew. "We wanted to be absolutely respectful of who these people are and, at the same time, be completely direct about the truth of their story," Russell reflected, "and they inspired us to do that because they are so comfortable in who they are." Micky Ward says Russell stayed true to the promise of depicting the family with compassion and honesty, as well as a storyteller's instincts. "He said right from the get-go that he wanted to make this as real as possible and that's what he did. He really listened to me and to Dicky and he was never afraid to try absolutely anything." When it came to casting Micky Ward (the underdog boxer dubbed 'Irish Thunder' for his sudden blasts of power as he won an astonishing string of fights in a match's final moments) there was never any doubt that Mark Wahlberg would take the role. Wahlberg had been passionate about making a film about the up and down and then triumphant relationship of boxing brothers Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund for years and, in fact, had already personally approached the two about doing a movie. He not only stars in The Fighter, but also serves as a producer. Long before the film received its green light, Wahlberg went into hardcore training. For three years, he brought his athletic trainer with him on all his other film projects and was constantly working out. "That often meant getting up at four o'clock in the morning," he says, "going to the gym for two hours, taking a shower, then going to do another job, all while hitting the mitts in the trailer in between takes." "Mark has been incredibly passionate about this movie for years and years. Mark lived with it for so long and believed in it so deeply. He became Micky Ward in every way," Kavanaugh ("Zombieland") adds. Working with trainer Bo Cleary, Wahlberg was paired with real sparring partners so he could take his skills to the next level. "Every day I lived and breathed boxing to become Micky Ward. I knew the kind of expectations Micky had and mine were just as high. I wanted to be believable in every aspect of the role, including the boxing. I didn’t want to rely on editing or choreography."
And why was that? "I wanted to look and be the part, for real. The result was that by the time shooting started, Wahlberg was in near-professional boxing condition. He also was ready to dive into Micky's inner world, one torn by his loyalty to his family and his need to step out into the world as his own man." With Wahlberg on board they now next began the search for an actor who could match him as Dicky Eklund. Russell and Wahlberg both agreed the role would require an actor of unusual dexterity, someone able to get to the heart of a tricky character who is appealingly funny and talented yet also a broken hero in search of redemption. Christian Bale, renowned for his ability to penetrate the most intense of characters, like Batman in "The Dark Knight" and John Conner in "Terminator Salvation", brought all of these qualities to bear on his performance. "I'd seen Christian do some pretty amazing things physically and emotionally as an actor," says Wahlberg. "I thought he would be incredible." "Christian was perfect because he is one of those chameleon actors who transforms himself," says Russell. "He spent a lot of time with the real Dicky Eklund and he became him." "Christian took one look at the material and he loved it," recalls David Hoberman. "He really wanted to invest himself in this role, which we knew is what it would take to show Dicky's full journey." Dicky Eklund and Micky Ward were also pleased with the choice. Ward recalls: "When Christian came on board, Dicky was so happy. If you had just met Dicky and you had seen Christian, you'd think it was the same person. He played him to a tee. It was incredible to watch." "The two brothers were absolute opposites," Bale (1989 Young Artist Award winner for "Empire Of The Sun") revealed. "Micky was all about hard work and discipline. They were such total opposites that Micky was a prison guard at the same Billerica Jail that Dicky served time in. Yet they were also as closely bonded as only brothers can be. They really needed each other. They were on such different paths in their lives, but ultimately, they couldn't do what they each needed to do without the other." Bale transformed his physical appearance by losing almost 30 pounds to reveal a sinewy fighter's physique whittled away by hard living. He, too, began intensive boxing training, working with the real Dicky to learn his unique moves. New to the ring, Bale ("American Psycho") also says he "had to learn to think like a pugilist." To play Charlene, a street-smart bartender who winds up in Micky's corner, Russell tapped Amy Adams ("Junebug" & "Doubt"). Adams was compelled first and foremost by the chance to work with Russell. "I had met with David on another film and I was just adamant that I wanted to work with him. Then, he called me up and offered me this part. I read one scene and knew I had to be Charlene. I got very excited about it." Adams was, in part, exhilarated by the chance to play a character unlike anything she'd previously tackled: a brassy, hard-nosed, working-class woman who knows who she is, takes no guff, says exactly what's on her mind and isn't afraid to throw a few punches of her own. 2006 Western Heritage Bronze Wrangler Award winner Melissa Leo ("The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada") was cast as Alice Ward, Micky and Dicky's hard-nosed mother turned boxing-manager and a daunting opponent for anone who gets in her way. "In meeting Alice, I felt a great responsibility. She's so different from me. She's a different age than I am, comes from a different class of people than I do, she speaks in a completely different way and has a different moral foundation. So, it was a big leap to play her."
What's It All About?
 Dicky, once went toe to toe with Sugar Ray Leonard. Now he's fallen on hard times. Micky, his half-brother has taken his place as family's fighter. Despite his gutsy left hook, he keeps getting punished in the ring. When Micky's latest fight nearly kills him, he is persuaded by his iron-willed new girlfriend, Charlene, to do the unthinkable: split with his family and pursue his own interests: without his troubled brother. When Micky gets the shot of a lifetime at a title fight, it soon becomes clear that it will take his brother and the whole family to get him there. Defying the naysayers, he sets out on a bid for redemption that will bring Dicky, Charlene, Alice and the entire Ward/Eklund brood back into his corner, resulting in one of the sport’s most surprising strings of victories. Out of the blue, Micky will become a champion, known as a resilient and loyal battler who fought, not just for himself, but his family too.
The Verdict
"Despite the fact that many oppose the sport of Boxing it still maintains a strong connection with the public. In its rawest form, at annual shows or carnivals, the fast disappearing boxing tent has proved a fascination for many. The spruiker baits the gathered crowd (made up of the curious, the disbelievers, cowards and a few who are brave enought to respomd to the taunts that easy money is in the offering for a few short minutes in the ring) with enticing words that make it all sound so easy. The tent is quickly filled to its brim and those who watch on (some with granduous thoughts they should have 'had a go') together with many of the mugs who accepted the challenge to go the distance and don't, quickly discover it's not such an easy task. Boxing is an art. Boxing requires skill, stamina, a desire to win, knowing your opponets weakness, having the right people in your 'camp' and lots and lots of heart. That's what makes "The Fighter" compelling. It is not just the fighting, it's the sideshow: everything that pulls it together. Wahlberg, Adams, Leo, Mickey O'Keefe (Micky's real life mentor and a police sargeant over thirty years who's still on the force) are all in top form, but: this is Bale's film. Hard to take in the opening scenes, he will grow on you and, when the credits roll you'll see how 'real' his interpretation of Dicky Eklund is. The final boxing scenes will have audiences cheering. While walhberg wanted the role of Mickey, O'Keefe had doubts. After all, he'd played so many characters and always knew what was required: but getting into the ring? O 'keefe looked at him and said: "Will ya shut up? Shut up and be yourself. You're fantastic! Just learn your lines and we'll help you. You're going to be great." He is. But not quite as great as Bale. Terrific! 4 1/2 STARS."
The Production Team
Director
Screenplay
Story
Producers

Original Music
Cinematography
Film Editor
Casting
Production Design
Art Direction
Set Decoration
Costume Design
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
David O. Russell
Scott Silver/Paul Tamasy/Eric Johnson
Paul Tamasy/Eric Johnson/Keith Dorrington
Dorothy Aufiero/David Hoberman/Ryan Kavanaugh
Todd Lieberman/Paul Tamasy/Mark Wahlberg
Michael Brook
Hoyte Van Hoytema
Pamela Martin
Sheila Jaffe
Judy Becker
Laura Ballinger
Gene Serdena
Mark Bridges
Who Is Playing Who?
Mark Wahlberg
Christian Bale
Amy Adams
Melissa Leo
Mickey O'Keefe
Jack McGee
Melissa McMeekin
Bianca Hunter
Erica McDermott
Jill Quigg
Dendrie Taylor
Kate B. O'Brien
Jenna Lamia
Frank Renzulli
Paul Campbell
Caitlin Dwyer
Chanty Sok
Ted Arcidi
Ross Bickell
Sean Malone
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Micky Ward
Dicky Eklund
Charlene Fleming
Alice Ward
Himself
George Ward
'Little Alice' Eklund
Cathy 'Pork' Eklund
Cindy 'Tar' Eklund
Donna Eklund Jaynes
Gail 'Red Dog' Eklund
Phyllis 'Beaver' Eklund
Sherri Ward
Sal Lanano
Gary 'Boo Boo' Giuffrida
Kasie Ward
Karen
Lou Gold
Mike Toma
Wolfie
Run Time 115 minutes
Rated MA15+ [AUST]
Copyright ©2011 - Warner Bros - All Rights Reserved
©1999-2011 - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved. Protected by Australian & International Copyright, Trademark Laws & Intellectual Property Rights.