Southpaw

Ultimately it's a story of hope and redemption, and on a simplistic level, it works. It's not the best movie, but it's harmless and well acted for sure. Given Gyllenhaal's physical transformation for the role, a better-written movie would have been more worthy.

Director Antoine Fuqua shoots the boxing scenes in long takes and gives us full body shots that look painfully real. What a shame that it's all in service of a plot that's utterly predictable from start to finish. Melodramatic and manipulative, this is no Raging Bull.

With a heartening story in tow, the film transforms a regular tale of suffering, loss and redemption extraordinarily. Though laden with cliches, it is consistently hard-hitting and never loses plot. The right blend of heart and skill works in suffusing an operatic feel to the movie which is an absolute knockout.

The average script rises above the ordinary because one, the direction and two the acting. You care about Billy Hope because of the conviction with which Gyllenhaal essays the role. Whether it is the physical looks of a boxer or emoting desperation about his daughter, he is brilliant.

Bleed, sweat and jab with Billy Hope through his downfall and rise. Watch this boxing drama for Jake Gyllenhaal and Forest Whitaker.

Gyllenhaal too is curiously disappointing, more caught up in his own character, with its tattoos, its constantly puffed eye and its mumbled speaking, than in genuine contact with either the people around him or his audience. There are many scenes of Billy and his daughter Leila, but never do you sense the desperation he constantly professes to feel to get her back.