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The Fighter

The Fighter is a 2010 American biographical sports drama film directed by David O. Russell, and stars Mark Wahlberg (who also produced), Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo. The film centers on the lives of professional boxer Micky Ward (Wahlberg) and his older half-brother and former boxer Dicky Eklund (Bale). The film was inspired by the 1995 documentary featuring the Eklund-Ward family titled High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell.[4]

This article is about the 2010 boxing film. For the 1952 boxing film, see The Fighter (1952 film). For other uses, see Fighter (disambiguation).

The Fighter

David O. Russell

  • Keith Dorrington
  • Paul Tamasy
  • Eric Johnson

Hoyte van Hoytema

Pamela Martin

Michael Brook

Paramount Pictures

116 minutes[1][2][3]

United States

English

$11 million

$129.2 million

The Fighter was released in theaters on December 17, 2010, by Paramount Pictures. The film grossed $129 million worldwide and received positive reviews, with critics praising the cast performances; many commented that Bale's physical transformation, accent, and mannerisms made for one of the greatest performances of that year.


The Fighter earned Bale and Leo awards for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress at various ceremonies including the Academy Awards, the Critics' Choice Awards, the Golden Globe Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations at the British Academy Film Awards.

Plot[edit]

Micky Ward is an American welterweight boxer from Lowell, Massachusetts. Managed by his mother, Alice Ward, and trained by his older half-brother, Dicky Eklund, Micky became a "stepping stone" for other boxers to defeat on their way up. Dicky, a former boxer whose peak of success was going the distance with Sugar Ray Leonard in 1978, has become addicted to crack cocaine. He is being filmed for an HBO documentary he believes to be about his "comeback".


On the night of an undercard fight in Atlantic City, Micky's scheduled opponent Saoul Mamby is ill, and a substitute is found in Mike Mungin who is 20 pounds heavier than Micky, a huge difference in professional boxing, constituting two or three weight classes. Despite Micky's reservations, his mother and brother agree so that they can all get the purse and tell Micky that the fighter is out of shape and has ring rust. They arrive at the fight and find that the substitute fighter is actually ready for the fight and in top shape, and soundly defeats Micky. Micky retreats from the world and forms a relationship with Charlene Fleming, a former college athlete who dropped out and became a bartender.


After several weeks, Alice arranges another fight for Micky, but Micky is concerned it will turn out the same. His mother and seven sisters blame Charlene for his lack of motivation. Micky mentions he received an offer to be paid to train in Las Vegas, but Dicky says he will match the offer so he can keep training and working with his family. Dicky then tries to get money by posing his girlfriend as a prostitute and then, once she picks up a client, impersonating a police officer to steal the client's money. This is foiled by the actual police and Dicky is arrested after a chase and a fight with them. Micky tries to stop the police from beating his brother and a police officer brutally breaks his hand before arresting him. At their arraignment, Micky is released, but Dicky is sent to jail. Micky washes his hands of Dicky.


On the night of the HBO documentary's airing, Dicky's family, and Dicky himself in prison, are horrified to see that it is called Crack in America and depicts how crack addiction ruined Dicky's career and life. Dicky begins training and trying to get his life together in prison. Micky is lured back into boxing by his father, who believes Alice and his stepson Dicky are bad influences and did more damage to his career than good. The other members of his training team and a new manager, Sal Lanano, persuade Micky to return to boxing with the explicit understanding that his mother and brother will no longer be involved. They place Micky in minor fights to help him regain his confidence. He is then offered another major fight against an undefeated up-and-coming boxer. During a prison visit, Dicky advises Micky on how best to work his opponent, but Micky feels his brother is being selfish and trying to restart his own failed career. During the actual match, Micky is nearly overwhelmed, but then implements his brother's advice and triumphs; he earns the title shot for which his opponent was being groomed.


Upon his release from prison, Dicky and his mother go to see Micky train. Assuming things are as they were, Dicky prepares to spar with his brother, but Micky informs him that he is no longer allowed per Micky's agreement with his current team. In the ensuing argument, in which Micky chastises both factions of his family, Charlene and his trainer leave in disgust. Micky and Dicky spar until Micky knocks Dicky down. Dicky storms off, presumably to get high again, and Alice chides Micky, only to be sobered when he tells her that she has always favored Dicky. Dicky returns to his crack house, where he says goodbye to his friends and heads to Charlene's apartment. He tells her that Micky needs both of them and they need to work together. After bringing everyone back together, the group goes to London for the title fight against welterweight champion Shea Neary. Micky scores another upset victory and the welterweight title. The film jumps a few years ahead, with Dicky crediting his brother as the creator of his own success.


The real-life brothers banter as the end credits run.

as Micky Ward: Wahlberg elected to star in the film due to his friendship with Ward, with whom he shares an inner-city working class Massachusetts upbringing[5] in a family with eight siblings. Wahlberg also was a huge fan of Ward's, calling him a "local sports hero".[6] The actor was also attracted to the film's central theme, an ordinary person in "an against-all-odds story", which he previously explored in Invincible (2006).[7] To mimic Ward's habits and mannerisms, Wahlberg had him "on set, watching me every single day".[8] During pre-production, the Ward brothers temporarily moved into Wahlberg's home.[9] To add to the film's realism, Wahlberg refused a stunt double and took real punches during the fight scenes,[7] which resulted in him nearly getting his nose broken a couple of times.[6] Wahlberg underwent a strict bodybuilding exercise regimen, dedicating over four years of training to obtain a muscular physique to convincingly play Ward. "The last six movies I did I was also secretly preparing for The Fighter at the same time", the actor continued, "so I would leave three hours early for work and go to the gym and spend three hours there. I would bring the trainers with me on every movie that I did."[10] His uncertainty over the film's development was overruled by his persistence to get the film made. "There were certainly times where I would wake up at 4:30 in the morning, you know, my trainer would ring the bell, and, 'Oh God', I'm like, 'I better get this movie made'. You know, 'Kill somebody if I don't get this movie made.'"[6] Wahlberg hired Freddie Roach as his boxing trainer, helping the actor model Ward's specific fighting style.[7] The last two years of Wahlberg's training resulted in the construction of a "dream gym" in his house for daily use, with a personal boxing ring.[11] He received additional boxing preparation from Manny Pacquiao.[12]

Mark Wahlberg

as Dick "Dicky" Eklund: After both Brad Pitt and Matt Damon dropped out due to scheduling conflicts,[5] Eminem was talked to and considered for the role of Eklund, but he ultimately wasn't cast due to recording conflicts with his music. Wahlberg suggested Bale for the role after meeting the actor at a preschool their daughters both attended.[13] Given Eklund's drug addiction, Bale had to lose weight, which he found easy as he had lost 63 pounds in 2003 for The Machinist (2004).[14] Bale researched the part by taking notes on Eklund's mannerisms and recording conversations[13] for the character's distinctive Boston accent.[9] Director David O. Russell believed Bale's task involved far more than mimicry. "Dicky has a whole rhythm to him, a music. Christian had to understand how his mind works." Russell and Eklund were both impressed by Bale's dedication to staying in character throughout filming.[13] Bale went on to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 83rd Academy Awards for his performance.

Christian Bale

as Charlene Fleming, Ward's real-life girlfriend and wife: Russell said of the actress: "There are very few things that a director can have at his disposal better than an actress who's dying to break type and is extremely motivated to break type. Amy was extremely motivated to play a sexy bitch, and that's who the character of Charlene is. ... She said: 'As long as it happens between action and cut, I'll do anything." And I said: 'That's my kind of actress.' I loved that she had that attitude."[15] Adams was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 83rd Academy Awards.

Amy Adams

as Alice Eklund-Ward, mother of both fighters and their seven siblings, all sisters. Leo won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 83rd Academy Awards.

Melissa Leo

as George Ward, Micky's father.

Jack McGee

as Sal Lanano

Frank Renzulli

Mickey O'Keefe as himself, a Lowell, Massachusetts police sergeant who was Ward's real-life trainer. O'Keefe, who had never acted, was hesitant at first, but Wahlberg told him he could do it because as a police officer, he has to act and think fast on his feet.

[16]

as Sherri "The Baby" Ward

Jenna Lamia

as Cathy "Pork" Eklund

Bianca Hunter

as Cindy "Tar" Eklund, one of Mickey and Dickey's sisters[17]

Erica McDermott

as himself, making a cameo appearance as a guest commentator at the Ward/Mungin match

Sugar Ray Leonard

Kate O'Brien as Mickey's sister, Phyllis Eklund[19]

[18]

as Laurie Carroll, Micky's ex, who she shares a daughter Kasie

Alison Folland

Production[edit]

Development[edit]

Scout Productions acquired the life rights of boxer Micky Ward and his brother, Dick Eklund, in July 2003. Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy were also hired to write the screenplay,[20] which was rewritten by Lewis Colick.[21] In an interview with producer Todd Lieberman, he revealed that rapper Eminem fresh off the success of 8 Mile (2002) was originally the first choice for the role of Micky Ward, however Eminem turned the offer down.[22] Matt Damon was also considered for the role of Micky Ward.[23] Mark Wahlberg joined the production in early 2005,[11] with the intention of doing Ward's life story "justice. We don't want to do any over-the-top, unrealistic fight scenes."[24] The Fighter had been a longtime passion project for Wahlberg, who was a fan of Ward's since his youth growing up in Boston.[6][25] Paramount Pictures, the United States distributor of the film, hired Paul Attanasio to rewrite Collick's draft in February 2007 in an attempt to emphasize the themes of brotherhood and redemption. Hoping to start production in Massachusetts in June 2007,[21] Wahlberg had Martin Scorsese read the screenplay, hoping he would direct. Scorsese turned down the offer, finding the Massachusetts-setting redundant after having finished The Departed (2006).[26] The actor cited Scorsese's Raging Bull (1980) as an influence for The Fighter,[24] but Scorsese was not interested in directing another boxing film.[26] Darren Aronofsky was hired to direct in March 2007,[27] with Scott Silver rewriting the script in September 2007.[28] Paul Attanasio was also brought in as a script doctor to work on the film prior to shooting.[29]

Reception[edit]

Box office[edit]

The Fighter had grossed $93.6 million in United States & Canada and in other territories it collected $35.5 million, for a worldwide total of $129.1 million; the film made a profit over its $25 million budget.[40][15]

Critical response[edit]

Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives The Fighter a rating of 91% based on reviews from 256 critics, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Led by a trio of captivating performances from Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams, The Fighter is a solidly entertaining, albeit predictable, entry in the boxing drama genre."[41] Metacritic gives the film an average score of 79 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[42]

Sequel[edit]

In 2011, Wahlberg was involved in developing a sequel, The Fighter 2, which would focus on the legendary fight trilogy between Ward and Arturo Gatti.[57] In 2013, Jerry Ferrara signed on to play Gatti.[58] In 2015, producer Todd Lieberman came out with a statement the sequel is far from over.

List of boxing films

at IMDb

The Fighter

at Box Office Mojo

The Fighter

at Rotten Tomatoes

The Fighter

at Metacritic

The Fighter