NMR: The Fighter

This one is long overdue considering I saw it several weeks ago. It's a shame too considering how much I enjoyed this movie. This was completely worthy of all the nominations and awards it earned. Clearly the strength of this film lies in the superb acting performances for all of the leads. First and foremost is Christian Bale, who finally got the recognition he deserved by winning his first Oscar. Bale once again takes (unnecessary) risks to his own body in order to properly convey the reality of the character he's portraying. His depiction of a crack addict is somehow both touching and sobering. You also have tremendous work done by Amy Adams and Melissa Leo (who also won an Oscar) as the two primary women in boxer Mickey Ward's (played by Mark Wahlberg) life. It's riveting watching Ward try to please everyone and the way it causes him to be held back in other facets of his life and career. Because of the family dynamics involved in Mickey's life this film is portrayed as something much more than a simple boxing film. Boxing really plays a backdrop to the character study, despite the fact that the scenes that involve boxing are very well done. Because of this, the film's climax is a bit baffling. While completely true as to what happened in Mickey's own life, it seems odd to end the film on such a positive, Hollywood-esque note. It didn't seem to fit given how secondary boxing was throughout the majority of the film. It's certainly not a terrible ending, just a bit confusing and somewhat underwhelming. Still, I don't want people to focus on this aspect of the review. I am strongly recommending this film for everyone. There are enough engaging aspects here in order for anyone to find something that they'll enjoy about this movie. With very little left that I haven't seen from 2010 that I want to see, this likely will be the last film that ends up making it on my Top Ten list for last year. Rating: ****1/2