Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti had three memorable fights, fights that will go down in history. Gatti; from Montreal, and Ward from Lowell Massachusetts. Two warriors that never gave up, that had tremendous heart, that punished each other with their fists, that sent each other to hospital.
The Fighter is the story of one of those warriors; Irish Micky Ward. It is also about his brother, his trainer Dicky Eklund, who once went ten rounds with Sugar Ray Leonard and knocked the hall of famer down, on route to a loss.
The Fighter is a realistic, no punches pulled, round by round account of Ward's family life, his brother's struggle with drugs and subsequent imprisonment and his soul mate Charlene.
Every one battles in this film but there is a great love there.
A viewer might wonder how everyone can be fighting and still love each other. Watch the youtube fights of Gatti and Ward. After two of their three fights both fighters were in the trauma ward, yet they when the bell sounds to end each and every fight, they hug each other like long lost brothers. Brothers in arms. Watching the film I was hoping to see Ward and Gatti fight, but alas, it was not to be.
Mark Whalberg plays the taciturn Micky and Christian Bale plays his flaky brother, tortured by lost potential and crack abuse. His performance is brilliant. Melissa Leo is the tough-talking matriarch of the family, and Amy Adams plays Charlene, a match for Leo's character; Alice and a match for Ward. She later became Micky Ward's wife.
The Fighter is a gritty look at life in bars, crack houses, boxing gyms and low income lives.
Arturo Gatti casts a shadow on this film because Ward is remembered for those fights more than anything else. Gatti had a tumultuous personal life which ended with his murder.
As the fights in the film demonstrate, when your skills desert you in the later rounds, due to the beating you have taken, do you have the heart and the will to win. Micky Ward would not back down. The heart of a lion. A will of iron.
This is no black and white film, no right and wrong, it is black and blue in its look at family, at love, and of course at life in the ring.
**** stars
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Acting Classes starting March 26th
Bottle Tree Productions starts its ten week long Spring Acting Classes March 26th at The Kingston Christian School on Woodbine Road in Kingston's West End. A great way to pump up your child's self confidence and to develop the talent that lies within your child. Scheduled times are 9:30-10:30 am for kids 6-10 years old. 10:30 am-12 noon for kids aged 11-12, 1-3 pm for teens. Each child will get a part written specifically for them in the end of class show. We allow each child to grow at their own rate. Kids get enough pressure put on them in the school system. Pressure to conform, pressure to succeed, pressure to do homework and fear of failure. We have a system where failure is a part of growing and learning. We provide a safe environment for these kids where they learn that failing is an integral part of succeeding. Award-winning playwright; Charles Robertson provides the scripts for the kids. To register and pay for classes online go to Bottle Tree Productions Acting Classes.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
March Acting Classes in Kingston Ontario
Cost is $100 plus hst.
Secure your spot in The Acting Out Loud Workshop
On Sunday March 20th, from 9 am until 6 pm, Tony teaches teens the ins and outs of showbiz. As an ACTRA performer in Toronto, Tony can give aspiring teens plenty of good advice about the actor's union, about agents and about the work. His high-powered workshop will energize any teen. Cost is $100 plus hst.
Email us at info[at] bottletreeinc[dot]com for more info or check out our website at Bottle Tree Productions
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