Southpaw - A Movie Review

You need to be confident to win battles.

After a fight in the ring, Southpaw was released to theaters in 2015. Billy Hope is a boxing champion. He has it all when tragedy strikes his family. Billy’s fame and confidence deflate as he loses his name and fights custody of his daughter.

I felt my heart pounding at all the violent smacks tossed around in this fierce boxing film. Southpaw is a film about boxing, redemption, and finding you. In a very brutal presentation, the film brings the message home about family and passion.

Talk about total body transformation. To resemble the ample physique of a champion boxer, Jake Gyllenhaal endured intense training in five months. He didn’t know a thing about it going into this film. Gyllenhaal is an amazing actor who I am still surprised has not garnered an Academy Award.

I have never seen Gyllenhaal portray heartaching emotions like this. Billy has to learn to take responsibility if he wants to be a part of his daughter’s life. Instead of bottling his emotions, he has to learn to be vulnerable.

Southpaw includes a remarkable cast. Every character makes a big impact, including Rachel McAdams. I was not expecting her character’s limited screen-time or tragic outcome. Gyllenhaal and McAdams’s chemistry was fervent, adding depth to their relationship.

Forest Whitaker should have appeared earlier in the movie. Behind Gyllenhaal, he is the best performer. As the story’s Fairy Godfather, Tick Wills sets Billy straight. He becomes Billy’s trainer and mentor, providing him with much-needed wisdom. This pair were magnificent together, creating a humbling dynamic between a coach and his student.

Speaking of commendable performances, Oona Laurence (Leila Hope) conveyed very mature and complicated emotions for a child to endure. Southpaw is a heartbreaking movie as we watch a once-loving family be destroyed.

Antoine Fuqua wanted everything to be real in Southpaw. He paid close attention to every detail, including cinematography, soundtrack, and boxing. The boxing matches are intense and realistic, shot with a kinetic energy that places the audience right in the middle of the action. Fuqua utilizes close-ups and quick cuts to emphasize the brutality of the sport,

For anyone who has not seen Southpaw yet, you are in for a tumultuous ride. The first act is intense and raw until the second act becomes more grounded. I almost stopped watching because it was too much. I preferred the second act.

The boxing is a vital element in Southpaw. The brutal nature of the sport symbolizes Billy’s grief and battles as the story progresses. As described, boxing is like a chess game. You need to understand strategies and be in the right head space. Fuqua masterfully captures this aspect, showing how Billy’s approach to fighting evolves, regaining control in his life.

Billy gets the living daylights beaten out of him throughout this movie. His face is covered in thick black bruises, he spits blood out of his mouth, his nose bleeds, and he gets several cuts.

Southpaw has a thrilling storyline, though there’s one unnecessary storyline. Was the film attempting to add a subplot about a troubled boxer at the gym? There’s already enough going on in the film. I did have a thought that this fateful character symbolizes Billy if he didn’t find help.

This is a story about love and redemption. Never let your demons control your life. We will have fallouts it’s up to us how we take control of them.

Southpaw is a compelling film that combines the visceral thrill of boxing with a heartfelt father/daughter storyline. Southpaw is streaming on Netflix.