Bleed for This (2016)

Review

117min

Genre:      Fact-based, Drama, Sport

Director:   Ben Younger

Cast:        Miles Teller, Aaron Eckhart, Ciarán Hinds…and more

Writers:    Ben Younger, Angelo Pizzo  and Pippa Bianco

-Synopsis-

Miles Teller stars in a biographical drama about the life of “The Pazmanian Devil” Vinny Pazienza; self-styled, ferocious East Coast American boxer and former Lightweight and Middleweight world champion, who miraculously recovered from a near life & career-ending spinal injury to achieve glory in this story of determination and the strength of the human spirit.

In what could easily be described as a resurgence in boxing biopics & dramas over the last couple of years, typified by boxing dramas like the Jake Gyllenhaal flick ‘Southpaw’ and ‘Rocky’ spinoff ‘Creed’ as well as the Roberto Duran biopic ‘Hands of Stone’; writer/director Ben Younger (Boiler Room, Prime) throws his hat into the ring with his dramatisation of one of the greatest sporting comebacks of all time.

Miles Teller (Whiplash, Fantastic Four) stars as “Vinny Paz” in the middle part of his illustrious boxing career in the late 1980s, having already become world Lightweight champion and developed a fearsome reputation in the ring. Now struggling to make weight and with the support of his loving but blunt Rhode Island father (Ciarán Hinds) and mother (Katey Sagal), the brash East-coast slugger turns to former Mike Tyson trainer Kevin Rooney (Aaron Eckhart) to reinvigorate both their careers and make a splash at middleweight.

But all his hopes and dreams are seemingly obliterated by a serious car crash which leaves him with a broken neck and the risk of paralysis. Told he might never walk again let alone box; Vinny defies the doctors and naysayers around him by embarking on a long and painful 13 month road to recovery, and building a new boxing legacy even more impressive than his previous one in this remarkable story of will and determination.

After first hearing about this project we were sceptical whether lean six-foot tall Teller could capture the ferocious essence of the stocky five-foot seven “Pazmanian Devil”, but the young star undergoes the pre-requisite boxing physical transformation which goes some way in terms of looking the part. With no real background in the sport and limited time; Teller clearly underwent a crash course in boxing fundamentals, and the result is some impressive pugilistic skills, all things considered. Perhaps not completely convincing for boxing purists but more than good enough for general audiences, with Teller even admirably trying to recreate “Paz’s” distinctive stalker/brawler style and deceptively skilled footwork.

While in terms of the dramatic performance Teller is wholly convincing and impressively holds the film together with a warts-and-all performance, aided by a solid supporting cast and the ever reliable Aaron Eckhart as both his on-screen trainer and acting foil. But when it comes to dramatic content and structure, ‘Bleed for This’ stumbles in the same way that so many boxing films do, despite being armed with an extraordinary true story of overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds.

Like many a boxing drama, ‘Bleed for This’ follows a “glory-to-setback-to-redemption” structure and falls into many of the character and narrative clichés that no boxing drama manages to avoid, despite the novelty of this being based on a true and extraordinary story. Ben Younger has the right idea in focusing on the character drama above its sporting context like any good boxing picture does, but we only get a small taste of the rambunctious character and ferocious competitiveness of “Paz” himself, and the film never goes more than skin deep into the psychology of his struggles. While the family dynamic is never as roguishly charming or well fleshed-out as that of another working-class New England boxing family in David O. Russell’s ‘The Fighter’.

In terms of the actual boxing scenes, the action is solid and convincing enough but not particularly plentiful, with Ben Younger choosing to shoot a lot of tight close-ups in the frenzied action, but doesn’t seem too concerned with the historical accuracy of the fights and how they played out. We’re fine with foregoing factual details for dramatic effect, but the final fight and effective comeback bout of the film is anachronistic, deliberately misleading the audience into thinking it was against the fearsome Roberto Duran, when in fact Vinny Paz fought six other tough fighters after recovering from the accident before facing the legendary Panamanian “Hands of Stone”.

The Bottom Line…

Despite tripping over boxing movie clichés and struggling in the captivating drama stakes, ‘Bleed for This’ has enough fight in it to win us over, if not make a lasting impact. Thanks to a committed central performance from Miles Teller and an equally accomplished supporting one from Aaron Eckhart, Ben Younger just about manages to do justice to this ultimate comeback story and extraordinary tale of dogged determination, while simultaneously serving as another example of the truth being more interesting than fiction.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Southpaw (2015)

Jake Gyllenhaal undergoes another drastic physical transformation to star as undisputed light-heavyweight champion “Billy Hope”, a fierce and unpredictable competitor in and out of the ring, but when tragedy strikes and his life spirals out of control, Billy must fight to rebuild his character and keep what’s left of his family together while achieving some sort of redemption.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams and Forest Whitaker among others.

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