The promotional art poster for Southpaw may not have given us a great first impression considering Jake Gyllenhaal’s Billy Hope is standing in an orthodox position. But thankfully, this 2015 film delivers all of the dramatics and strong performances in order to give us a “knockout” experience. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, Southpaw, like Rocky, uses the sport of boxing as a tool in order to tell a story about redemption and the strength of the human spirit in times of crisis.
If you are expecting something akin to the earlier Rocky movies then you may be surprised. The general tone of the narrative that Fuqua wants to tell to the audience is hard hitting and grounded in contrast, although there are some things that were hard for me to buy. As this is a retrospective article, it will be assumed that you have already seen the movie by now. And if you have not then you probably will want to stop reading here.
Early on, there is a sequence involving a press conference and a fatal injury from a gunshot carried by a fighter named Miguel who wants to fight Billy. In reality, there is no way that Miguel would be still be allowed to keep his boxing licence after what happened. In fact, there would be a pretty good chance that he would have ended up in prison for manslaughter. So, even though the film does try to relate to the audience by conveying the happenings in an authentic way, there are some liberties taken here. But hey, it is a film. And you should never expect them to not betray at least one aspect of reality.
Action packed is not something that you would describe Southpaw. It focuses primarily on the interactions between the characters and the consequences (and payoffs!) of those interactions. There are not really any surprises. But it does decently show how turbulent a fighter’s life during his career can realistically be. Billy starts off as an unlikeable guy, which I thought was an odd creative choice because most of the time we need a protagonist to support. But Fuqua does not pretend here. He deliberately makes Billy somebody who has to earn the audience’s respect as well as the others characters in the picture as things progress. Think about Raging Bull. Jake LaMotta in the classic Martin Scorcese film had a terrible temperament and treated those around him like garbage. But by the end you come to appreciate how he manages to change things in order to have a semi decent life and become a better person.
If you like boxing and you are a film fan then surely you have to see Southpaw. You probably have already seen it if you are. I like this kind of film because it contains a story that is timeless. There is not much about it that can age. I have the same feelings about it that I did back in 2015 when I watched it in cinemas. There are no major special effects to judge it by or anything else that can potentially change one’s opinion as the years roll on and technology improves.
The majority of mainstream films have forgotten to be more like this one. You can have all the special effects and explosions you want. But if there are no interesting characters and a good story to support them then it all becomes worthless.
And seven years later, I am still waiting for another boxing themed picture to be just as absorbing.
