Released this week on DVD
A good companion piece to The Boxer, The Fighter is a story of an Irish American family in Lowell, Massachusetts. The Fighter is based on real people and true events. Mickey Ward (played by Mark Wahlberg) in training to be a fighter, is not having much success in the ring. Mickey is in the shadow of his older half-brother, Dicky, who made it to the professional boxing level. Dicky unfortunately is now a junkie. Mickey continues to practice at a local gym under the direction of a Lowell policeman. Mickey has a mother, Melissa Leo, who is very ambitious for Micky and also very controlling. Mickey meets a college educated women played by Amy Adams. Charlene is seen as a threat by Mickey's extremely dysfunctional family. Mickey finally starts winning bouts and the family conflicts rise in relationship to the extent of his success. I really likes this movie, although the language was very offensive and I wasn't crazy about the scenes with the drug addicts. But that is real life. The movie is shot in and around Lowell, the home of my family on my mother's side. I recognized a lot of the scenery. The Fighter was nominated for Best Picture this year and it was a greatly deserved nomination. Leo and Bale both won for Best Supporting Actress and Actor. Bale was a shoe in from the start, this was his movie.
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