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Friday, July 22, 2011 at 10:30AM 
Randomness: I was watching The Fighter out of the corner of my eyeballs again the other day. Guess whose scenes always demanded full eyes? Damn, but Amy Adams earned that Oscar nomination! I'm glad I medalled her. We now return you to your normally scheduled 2011 programming.
Amy Adams, Mark Wahlberg, Oscars (10), The Fighter
Reader Comments (11)
Now this IS bizarre - you must have been reading my mind, Nat. I finally started watching it for the first time on Netflix last night with my sweetie.(She's lived in Boston, so that helps; she probably has an easier time understanding the accents.) I wondered if I could comment here on what I've seen so far (I got to the beginning of that "first date") but figured it came out too long ago to be relevant. So the timing is perfect.
And my impression, thus far (watching on the computer screen rather than in the theater) is that my favorite performances thus far are from Wahlberg and Adams of the four primary actors. And it's not Leo's performance so far that strikes me as over-the-top; in fact I feel as though I've known women very much like her. It's Bale's - and it's probably right for the role and the character, he's got the humor and the pathetic bravado, the delusions of grandeur, etc. But the mugging gets a little much sometimes, and I find myself really noticing and admiring the quieter work of Adams and Wahlberg, giving the sort of performances that might lead someone to say "they're not doing anything". (In other words, the type of peformance that doesn't get Oscars noms, never mind awards, as we know. Bale was right to mention this aspect in his nod to Wahlberg at the Oscars.)
Full disclosure: I don't think I'm biased in this instance as I am not a fan or detractor of either actor; I haven't seen enough of their work thus far to even judge. (I've only seen Adams in Julie and Julia previously, and a little bit of Junebug.)
Watching this reminded me too of the fact that not seeing movies when they come out (due mainly to economics, availability, etc) of how much I miss out by not being able to participate in a lot of the conversations at this site.
I have to admit that Bale's weight loss, his extreme boniness, the anorexic effect on his face, is appropriate to his character but is it distracting in a way? Yes, as appropriate as it is, and unsettling. He looks wasted, as befits, and so many actors have tried to play drug addiction or poverty, etc while still retaining their healthy good looks. (I love you, Nicole, but I am thinking of you in the Human Stain.)
And yet watching him I do find myself pulled back and forth between the fiction of the film and the reality of his physical body. It occurs to me though that actresses have reached a similar level (if not so severe) of thinness and it's become so common we barely blink an eye at it anymore; it's only when a man does it that we are reminded anew how unhealthy and unsettling that looks.
I LOVE Mark in this scene! It's adorbz the way he's completely delighted with that number even though a bar fight breaks out all around him.
Each time I watch The Fighter it gets better and better. I think it might be my #2. This film is going to hold up well in 10-15 years. The performances are excellent--from the main 4 to the crazy ass sisters. I give David O. Russell a lot of credit for making this movie work. (I was pleased he wasn't snubbed by the Academy) Wahlberg, definitely deserved a nomination for Lead Actor. Without him, the film would have fallen apart both onscreen and off.
I hope they make the sequel so Wahlberg and Adams get the recognition they deserve...
Honestly, I always just saw Amy Adams being "that cute little girl trying to act tuff" the entire time watching The Fighter. I'm a big fan of hers and was hoping to see her legitimately break free of her usual persona but I just saw her trying way too hard, unfortunately.
The porch scene is such a clincher for me and when they go and watch the french film and adams just seems to be there in the moment i forgot i was watching amy adams from junebug!!!
When I'm in the right mood (maybe never!), I'll give "The Fighter" another spin. I was just thinking about what rubbed me the wrong way about the Oscar-acclaimed performances, and it wasn't just the scenery chewing. It was the positively baroque contast between Bale/Leo/Adams and Mark Wahlberg. He was so great, so alive and smart, in "The Departed" that it was a major shame to see him revert to Automatic Drip mode. His lethargic inner-city slightly open-mouthed idiot earnestness made the other performances seem frantic and frenzied by comparison. He brought their performances down in much the same way that Amy Adams brought Meryl Streep down in "Julie and Julia." (Sandra Bullock literally defeated
Meryl Streep for the Oscar, but it was Adams who was what lawyers call the "proximate cause.")
How likely is it that another Leogend-moment will take place at the Emmys? Or is Maggie Smith the frontrunner? I hope Maggie wins and will be there to accept. I rewatched Gosford Park the other day and think she's the MVP, which is saying something.
"Is everything alright? Are you OK?" - "Am I *what*?"
The movie didn't exactly need the type of humor that it had (or did it?) but good lord was it amazing when they nailed it. And they nailed it each time. That goofy look on his face in that dirty dive bar as a fight is about to break out... says it all. Thanks, David O. Russell. It's like he knew we couldn't handle another generic sports movie (as I'm sure he can't either) so he really went his own way with it, despite it being the rare movie of his he's not written the script for at all.
I just watched some of it the other night, I agree that it'll hold up incredibly well in some years. It just has this wonderful electricity.
Janice - I think you kinda nailed it with the whole 'if a man gets anorexic we're thrown into an uncomfortable panic' but I think one should consider how many actors other than Bale commit 1,000% so selflessly to a role. Possibly DDL (and Tilda) but that's kinda it. It's a rare thing and so people will never respond to it in an easy way. It shaves a couple years off his life but he's making these performances count, baby! /Mo'nique
As glorious as Adams is, in my book no one in that film bests Melissa Leo aka LEOgend. I was watching the film about the other day while writing and I found myself stopping nearly every time Leo raised her voice or did something crazy. I do appreciate how different Adams was in comparison to her most famous roles, complete with cussing and slight nudity. She'll get her due one day, and probably in Leading.
Thanks to this movie, Bale became an Oscar winner, so I could never think bad things about THE FIGHTER