I finally saw The Fighter at a screening in London last night, and while I am in the final stages of putting my review together, I can confirm that it is quite simply amazing! Check out my review on the site Wednesday morning!
In the meantime, here’s a acouple of interviews with two of the (award winning) supporting actors in the film, Christian Bale, who plays Dicky, and Melissa Leo, who plays Alice.
The Fighter the inspirational true story of two boxing legends. Dicky Ecklund (CHRISTIAN BALE) is a former boxing legend whose life has become shattered by drug abuse whilst Micky Ward (MARK WAHLBERG), his half brother, has become the town’s fighter and fading hope for a champion. But with Micky losing fight after punishing fight, it takes iron-willed Charlene (AMY ADAMS), to help him split with his family, pursue his own interests and train without his criminal brother.
Here are the interviews.
Christian Bale (Dicky)
Q: What was it like training with the real Micky and Dicky?
CB: Just essential, you know, I mean Mark was always leagues ahead because he’d been training for this for so long anyway; he has his own boxing ring in his house. For me it just was a wonderful opportunity to hang out with Micky and Dicky, get to know them, get to understand their fighting styles to use it as a means of dropping the weight that I needed to lose in order to look like a welter weight and then a crack head. I just enjoyed it immensely, I enjoyed their company.
How did you transform to get into your role?
Same with anyone you know, you kind of start off and you go, “yeah I like this story” and then you go “holy crap, how am going to do it, I’ve forgotten how to do this”. I never took any classes, I just go like “I better wing this one again and make it up!” Slowly, you find ways brick by brick of building it up, and it feels like hard work and you feel like you’re going to fail everybody. Then eventually it’s just kind of happening and it’s slipping in, then you forget that you went through the hard work and you think it was all easy.
What is the movie about and what are the main themes that emerge in The Fighter?
The Fighter is about brotherly love, it’s about loyalty, about family, family dysfunctions, the need to change, the pain of change, but ultimately, the triumph of people who love each other, managing to find a healthy way to unite and that they’re unstoppable at that point.
Melissa Leo (Alice)
Q: What is The Fighter about?
ML: The story of the Fighter is about Micky Ward and his struggle for his champion belt and the struggle involves a loving and severe family and David O. Russell has told this story so eloquently and truthfully, humour filled and poignant that you barely think you are watching a boxing movie.
What character do you play in the movie?
I play Alice Ward, who is the mother of Micky Ward and his older brother, Dick Eckland and she also is the mother of seven girls!
Can you tell us a bit more about your character?
She visually manages the younger brother Micky Ward and because of the family’s own entanglements with itself, it falls apart, and eventually Mickey triumphs with the help of his family.
What attracted you to the role?
What attracted me to the role was David’s belief that I could play it. Before I even knew her, I had a script to read that I could really ascertain what was being put in front of me, he had an excitement, not only about the project and Alice Ward, but me being Alice Ward, so I just decided to meet that head long and see what it brought!
What do you think people will take away from the movie?
I think that this is just going to be a thrilling night at the movies, I think that there is something in it literally for everyone, and that there’s a wondrous ending to it, and just a great night at the movies, and then something to talk about the next day!
The Fighter is released in the UK on Wednesday 2nd February.
