Not a good movie, but there’s a great performance at the center of it.
What Works: This largely forgettable boxing movie will be known mostly for Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance, which is a 180 from last year’s excellent (and underseen) “Nightcrawler.” In that film, he was a rail-thin and articulate sociopath who hid his amoralism behind upbeat, self-helpish corporate speak. In “Southpaw,” he’s uncomfortable in society and driven by an inarticulate rage that makes him come off as a worse guy than he really is. Even the most formulaic scenes are juiced by his unpredictability.
In smaller roles, Forest Whitaker is solid and Rachel McAdams defies type. Between this and “True Detective,” I’ve had to consider Rachel McAdams an actress for the first time in a decade. And even though the emotional climax is totally manipulative, I was moved by the stuff with Gyllenhaal trying to get his daughter out of state care. Maybe the ending is predictable because they know it works so well.
What Doesn’t: There’s really nothing unique here. The story is old-hat—and the biggest twist is ruined by the trailers—and the riches to rags to riches story doesn’t add nearly enough new wrinkles. “Southpaw” is better at tweaking cliches (like the crusty old trainer or the amoral fight promotor/manager) than transcending them.
What I Would Have Done Differently: I don’t remember the last time there was a white heavyweight champion, and maybe it’s time the movies started reflecting that. Either that or finally admit that MMA style fighting is just as big a draw as boxing, and maybe center a decent movie around that.
All in all though, this is a movie that you won’t really be missing anything if you don’t see it, but you probably won’t regret it if you do happen to see it.