THE FIGHTER (2010) ***

David O. Russell’s The Fighter is less a biopic of real-life boxer Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and more of a white trash slice of life piece.  While it hits all the notes of your typical sports movie (bloody boxing scenes, training montages, romantic subplots, etc.), it seems like there’s more focus on Mickey’s family squabbles than his boxing career.  The title makes you think about his rise to prizefighting glory, but it’s more about him dealing with his crackhead brother Dicky (Christian Bale), his overbearing manager mother (Melissa Leo), and his loudmouth sisters.  Meanwhile, his new girlfriend (Amy Adams) fights to make her voice heard throughout all the familial screaming and shouting.  

Your enjoyment of The Fighter may hinge on your tolerance of Mickey’s annoying dysfunctional family unit.  His mother’s meddling and his sisters’ screeching are bound to grate on the nerves.  You have to wonder if he was adopted because he’s so reserved next to his feral siblings.  (He’s actually their half-brother, which I guess is about the only explanation.) 

Despite the film’s flaws, Bale is electric.  He handily steals the movie from Wahlberg with his heartbreaking performance of a former champion (who once knocked out “Sugar” Ray Leonard) turned crackhead.  It’s one of his all-time best.  In fact, they probably could’ve made a whole movie about his character appearing in a crackhead documentary, which seriously takes away from the boxing sequences.  Even though the scenes of addiction are often hard to watch, it’s impossible to take your eyes off Bale.

So, therein lies the conundrum.  Do I take points off because of the revolting characters and unpleasant subject matter?  Or do I recommend it solely based on the performances alone?  I think I’ll go with the latter.  As long as you don’t expect a heck of a lot of boxing, you might enjoy it.  Otherwise, the bulk of the film feels like you’re trapped at someone else’s family reunion and can’t escape.