Performance Review: Melissa Leo in The Fighter (2010)

It's been awhile for sure, but I'm back with this past year's Supporting Actress winner in spotlight (just how she LOOOOVVVESSS it!); one who stirred up a little bit of weird (i.e. desperate) PR in the form of an ad which kind of backfired and presenting herself to the media and the world as more than a bit shallow and a lot less than humble. But, nonetheless, it didn't stop her from swiping this year's prize, and it's actually a bit surprising that Oscar (and most every other critics group) had such an adoring affection for...

...Melissa Leo in The Fighter (2010)

Melissa Leo plays Alice Ward, the loud and crazy, but loving manager mother of "Irish" Micky Ward (the immaculate Mark Wahlberg), a boxer who has yet to soar partially due to Alice's ways.
Alice is a woman who has led a crew of nine children in the tough, gritty city of Lowell, Mass, and who's used to getting what she wants without making it seem like she's even trying.

She has her loyal daughters on her sleeve, following her every move, a devoted husband, and two sons which whom are wiggling out of her grip as all of their lives are becoming shifted every which way; something she isn't used to, and something she refuses to get used to. She may be Micky's manager, but it's no secret that she favors her elder son Dicky, especially when she thinks that a camera crew following them around is for his big comeback, when it's really about his crack addiction.

And it's with Dicky she sides with when Micky begins to seriously consider heading in another direction, a direction where the domineering Alice will no longer be in control. The real life story isn't particularly known for the maternal setbacks Micky faced during this strive for the top, but the film explores these relationships with depth and makes clear one of the most important themes: family. It's family that ties mostly everyone in the film together, and anyone outside the family is considered risky and untrustable, and it's something Alice openly believes.

Though inside the family haunting truths begin to arise when Alice (who's been in some serious denial for years) is beginning to realize that her pride and joy Dicky is a loser, crack-head that has gone completely off the tracks partially due to Alice's loose and unsuspecting hold she tries to have on him. This revelation comes when Alice (in her furry slippers) makes her way to the crack house to find Dicky desperately jumping out of a high window. They both make their way to the car where a heartbroken Alice at first silently refuses to accept it before she quickly falls under Dicky's weirdly charismatic spell. It's Leo's best scene in the film and it grips us to see a complex character at her peak. 

And yes, like the other characters, Alice is by design a simple yet complex character who's caught in a tangled web of moral and emotional complexities, but much of this doesn't actually derive from Leo's actual portrayal in the role. It's written as truth, and the actual Alice Ward gives Leo a lot of actorly bits to chew on both physically and verbally; big hair, gaudy wardrobe, chain smoking, lots of words to shout, and a heavy Bohston accent. And that's the problem, when Leo's performance is a flashy, showy externalized walking caricature. 

That might be an easy way out, to call it "over the top" and "showy", but it's true and Leo does what I least like in supporting performances; trying so hard to own the film, blow everyone else off-screen, and to have no interest in elevating the proceedings and the other actors. It's a problem that critics, voters, and film loves have embraced as a positive quality that puzzles me, to be honest. 

With such a complex part, Leo copps out with having fun with the expressions and accents rather than constructing a human character who's just as lost as the others around her. Leo doesn't illuminate much about Alice; her internal integrity, her motivation, her reasoning, her inner turmoil for herself and her family. It cheapens the character that we don't really get a glimpse behind her facade, and it prevents any character development. The rest of the main cast and their characters grow and change in their own ways from all of this, but Leo's Alice is the only person who doesn't seem to budge or grow, and it's because of the actress playing her. In every scene, she's always present and engaged (even in the ensemble action), but never that focused, and always much more "in the moment" than "in the character" -- and it's clearly felt. 

Though this category has seen bigger disappointments with its winners, I remain stumped as to why this occasionally funny ("that Salanada-banana-fuckin'-thing!") but nearly completely unsatisfying performance amazed so many and swiped all of the attention away from her much more deserving co-stars (aka the unnominated Wahlberg, and the defeated Adams). I mean, I get why she won (loud, brash, unsubtle, pure fun with little substance, and scene-stealing) but c'mon, it gave a vain actress and character the attention she simply didn't deserve. But The Fighter is a great enough film that her cotton-candy, lightweight work doesn't bring anything down. And Thank God for it. 

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Coming Back

I've been off for a little over a week now, and I've been thinking of new ideas to explore in depth because the well here and in my mind had been kind of dry (if you hadn't noticed). It's been a semi-crazy time getting college things done and squared away, having a little writer's block, but enjoying reading what you guys post daily. It's inspirational for me at this time of my writing career to learn and grow off of others with my own thoughts and ideas mixed in.

But, I will be coming back with a review of this year's Supporting Actress winner's performance; Melissa Leo in The Fighter. I'll be able to do one more re-watch, before I collect the screen caps and do my write up. Oh and don't forget, The Fighter comes out on DVD this Tuesday, so run out and get a copy!

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CineBites: The Fighter (2010)

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"A genuine triumph of a film told through the clarity and conviction of its direction, writing, and spectacular performances -- making this one of the year's very best films."    

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Sport film cliches and sport-themed films in general these days have become so common place and lethally generic that the formula has run itself into the ground. The triumphant redemption of the lower class underdog is something that, in it's own personal way, feels good to experience even when we know it the outcome with be nothing worth remembering. Much to my surprise, shock, and delight, The Fighter transcends banal cliches and you can literally feel it in your bones. And it's thrilling.

The story follows "Irish" Mickey Ward's breakthrough to a mainstream boxing career from his working class, Lowell, Mass roots which are tied down by a loving, but short sighted clan of family and friends. He has the focus, drive, and ambition to achieve a success like nothing before, but without the true support he should be receiving from his manger-mother and his loud mouthed crack head brother, the collective aim always just seems to miss the target for something bigger and better. Soon Mickey is torn between his family ties and loyalty to the people who help make him who is today, and steering clear of a path of destruction (which his half-brother fell into) and finding a stronger, more fulfilling existence both for his career and his life. 

With such a simple tale of simple people, it wouldn't be hard to loose focus or consistency while balancing true-to-life complexities with a sharp, brisk narrative, and going in, one might be a bit unsure about what to expect from this almost done to death genre. But coming out of the theater, it's become a treat to prove yourself wrong and to carry a satisfying feeling of elation. The Fighter is nothing short of perfectly calibrated human drama and overall captivating storytelling that is matched by a textured, engrossing pace that feels brand new. The film, is at every moment, able to hold and structure the ideas, emotions, and actions of its characters without making them feel obtuse or flat-footed in any way. Instead, each facet or building block of the narrative feels equally illuminated with its own sense of place -- wether it be involving a head-to-head battle of the insider vs. the outsider, a blossoming romance,  a deterioration of one's self, or a consistent inner struggle -- the film maintains a freewheeling, yet taut grasp on its subjects at all times.

But The Fighter possesses something that most Oscar-y/real life stories don't usually have; a sense of giddy popcorn entertainment value that never compromises or tips its genuine dramatic action into a haywire mess. This all of course roots back to the fascinating direction accomplished by David O. Russell, who truly makes this baby soar. His construction of narrative action and characterization is grounded, dynamic, and genuine from first frame to last. While other directors swamping through the genre tend to drag their feet through the ring and out, Russell beautifully charges his work with clarity and brisk, electric energy which keeps even the smallest of action moving. He does all of this while still allowing individual moments to resonate and tethers the action of each scene to a core while balancing a new kind of naturalistic feel. When I say this, and say it again, Russell keeps a refreshing and bouncy freewheeling grip that combines humor and heart. And this film is very funny. It's not satirical or slapstick comedy, but real, natural, Boston-esque humor that he evokes out of characters and their situations. 

Living outside that area, the audience (myself included) had a wild time with the sharp authenticity of the proceedings, and I suppose it's why The Fighter works so well. There's a distinctive light touch that Russell infuses which holds an air of levity and quiet sophistication -- the trashy "southie" characters, their accents, their mannerisms all feel real and are captured but always present is the dynamic, human tension that becomes illuminated at every turn. This said "touch" also helps to avoid cheap melodramatic pitfalls and maudlin sentiment, which is one factor which elevates The Fighter into a special kind of cinematic realm. 

The film knows how to be realistic without coming off as self-involved, and much of the it is also due in part by the array of some of the finest acting I have seen in years. As the title character, Mark Wahlberg's performance is something of a quiet revelation; as the internally pained and confused Mickey Ward, Wahlberg conveys the struggle, the pain, and the strength of a true fighter whose complicated exterior matches his equally complex inner self. He charts the triumphant, redemptive arc with clarity and layered subtleties that sparkle. It's astonishing how much subtlety and pure humanity Wahlberg infuses into the role, and to think of how genuine and modest it feels provides The Fighter with two essential assets; a steady (but never heavy-handed) anchor, and a sweetly beating heart. I simply cannot understand how this superb piece of acting is being ignored by the public and the Academy (who couldn't even give him a nom?!). As his crack-head brother Dickey, Christian Bale is grabbing all of the attention for a much more showy/actorly performance. It's the kind of work that I might have hated for being a big slice of showboating, but Bale adds some surprising touches to such a broad archetype, especially in his way of grounding a character in interesting, psychological dimensions that feel focused and in tune with his characterization. In the same "actorly" corner with Bale is the scene-stealing/loud mouthed Melissa Leo as the one and only white trash mother who's work has reaped tons of prizes. Let me just say this first; Leo's is a worthy nomination in a great year, and her very showy role and portrayal have caught voters' eye ('cause we all know they just love scene-stealers) -- which isn't necessarily a bad thing. She's loud, tacky, but somehow relatable even when she isn't likable, and Leo does humanizes this caricature by conveying a woman's torn love between her sons and the underlying sadness it brings. But I still can't help but think that Leo (despite humanizing individual moments) doesn't keep up a consistency of texturing Alice's inner layers of depth. We get that she has her fair share of complicated issues and what not, but instead of texturing those hidden complexities into a consistent characterization, she plays each moment to a hilt and when she has a big scene she doesn't always feel "in the character" but more "in the moment". It's a defiantly exterior performance which doesn't help much, and in a way cheapens any character development or growth which makes the overall performance feel more cartoon than human. Going back to Wahlberg's corner, we find the true BEST supporting actress performance in the film from Amy Adams as the tough as nails gal pal Charlene. Her performance is a blast of humor, strength, vulnerability and shattering authenticity. She accomplishes the kind of gritty realism that Leo thinks she has a handle on, and shakes the foundation at every moment. Adams underplays the part with just enough restraint, and is always elevating both the film and her character in essential ways. Her Charlene is a force to be reckoned with, and the energy, emotional clarity, humanity and rich integrity Adams invests into the part makes her Wahlberg's equal in crafting the two most authentic characters in the film i.e. the two most modest people who grow and change. Charlene has a past of failed hopes and dreams, and Adams' performance conveys the same kind of inner feelings so well that her character arc feels like the kind of triumphant redemptive parallel it should be -- from lonely, dead-end bar girl to someone who uses all she's got to champion the growth of the man by her side, but in the process making a kind of inner/self transformation herself.  But she's more than that though, because if Wahlberg is The Fighter's heart, than Amy Adams provides it with its resonating soul.

The Fighter is gripping, compelling, and exhilarating for its sheer simplicity of storytelling and for once an actual story is being told with deeply human drama and modesty. It's a roller-coaster ride of a sort; your strapped in and it gets you involved and familiar with the experience that you wouldn't want to leave, then leaves you feeling charged, thrilled, and elated. It's a kind of experience that makes you think, believe, and cherish -- not only the ways of your own life, but the growing possibilities and growth of cinema. 

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