Southpaw (2015)

Directed by: Antoine Fuqua

Written by: Kurt Sutter

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, Oona Laurence, Forest Whitaker

Seriously, this film, oh my gosh.  It was amazing!  I loved every minute of it.  I cried.  Tears rolled down my face, smearing my makeup.  And it wasn't just one time I cried, I was bawling through the whole thing.  It was that good.  A movie that makes you feel is always good.

Billy Hope (Gyllenhaal) has it all.  He has his beautiful wife, his lovely daughter, his mansion of a house, and his ongoing career as a boxer, a undeafeated boxer.  But just from bad luck he loses his wife and along with it everything else he holds dear.  Hope feels hopeless to say it bluntly.  With the help of Tick Wills (Whitaker), he regains his hope, but is it enough to get everything back that he once lost?

Gyllenhaal's performance was astounding.  He is probably one of the most underrated actors in the industry today.  Hopefully this will get him recognized and nominated for something, anything c'mon.  Anyway, despite his physical physique, he trained for this movie, emotionally I mean.  You can see the despair in his eyes and how he feels so lost.  Losing a spouse I'm sure is like that.

The other actors in the film were also incredible.  Laurence, though still young, put on the performance of what it's like to lose a parent.  It can't be easy losing one parent and slowly losing the other from depression. 

Meanwhile, McAdams had me a little worried.  When I see her, I think of Time Travelers Wife, The Vow, Mean Girls, and the list goes on.  This was probably her first role of being...not as classy or the girl next door type?  I don't know, but it put me off a little.  I'm not saying it wasn't good.  It wasn't recognizable.

Forest Whitaker's character was interesting.  Wills owns his own gym and is a trainer to keep kids off the streets.  Seems like normal trainer characteristics.  He's there to pick his fighters when they're down.  But Wills is much more.  Just see it and you'll know what I'm talking about.

I also loved the cinematography.  The scenes in the boxing ring against Miguel Escobar (Miguel Gomez) were new and exciting.  I felt like I was getting hit since the camera was situated as a point of view shot.  By doing this, it gave the feeling of how much this match meant to both characters.  Way to go Fuqua!

Southpaw deserves wholeheartdly 5 Popcorns.  It's a must see and I may even see it again.