[Side note: I plan on giving a lot more information about films in these entries. I was so concerned about the length of the other articles that I omitted things I would normally include. Facts, like who the director was, are very important and I hate that I had to leave it out of other films.]
Summary: This film follows two estranged brothers and their alcoholic father in the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Tommy, played by Tom Hardy, is the younger brother. Recently home from serving in the Marines overseas. He shows up on his father Paddy's doorstep one night, after not seeing him for years. Paddy, played by Nick Nolte, used to be an alcoholic and is almost 1000 days sober. His drinking lead Tommy and his mother to leave when Tommy was a teenager. Tommy used to be a fighter, and decides to start up again with Paddy's help.
Brendan, the older brother, is played beautifully by Joel Edgarton. He is married with two young daughters. Because of the youngest daughter's medical bills, his house is nearing foreclosure. He is a former MMA fighter, now a high school physics teacher who fights at night to pay the bills. After being suspended for coming to school with bruises on his face, he decides to fight full time in order to make ends meet. He hasn't seen Paddy in years and doesn't allow him to visit. The only contact he allows is via mail or phone.
I don't want to ruin the rest of the film, so I'll keep it simple. Both Tommy and Brendan enter the same MMA tournament, which is the equivalent of the Super Bowl for that sport. The family struggles, between brothers and between the father and his sons, are much more important to the film than the MMA fights. This story could have been told using most any sport, though I don't know how someone would get suspended from teaching for playing basketball at night.
OaTs: I can honestly say, that as of today, this is my favorite film of 2011 thus far, though I will admit that one film I saw at Sundance back in January comes pretty close. When I saw the trailer for the film, I knew immediately that I wanted to see it. Not because of the subject matter, but because of the cast. I was introduced to Joel Edgerton when I saw the Australian film Animal Kingdom at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. It was one of my favorites from the festival and I've kept up with the Aussie actors ever since. Edgerton was a standout and I believe, based on reports of upcoming films, that he just may have what it takes to make it in Hollywood.
I also liked Tom Hardy once I saw him in Inception last summer. Now, I don't want to get into a debate about that film, but I will say that Hardy was one of the few things I liked about Inception. So I kept up with him too. I didn't know that much about Nick Nolte's work, but I did know that he has had some personal problems. I hate that the way I knew him was through the media and not through film. So I was really excited to see him in something as well.
Boy was I in for a bigger treat than I ever could have thought. All three men really brought it. Nolte was truly heartbreaking as the alcoholic father. Through conversations, we come to find out that he was also abusive. The only thing he was good at was training Tommy as a fighter. Also an ex-marine, he understood - to an extent - what Tommy was going through after returning home. There are two quite memorable scenes of Nolte's that I can't quite shake. One with each son. I'd love if his work was recognized come Oscar time. And he just might stand a chance, depending on how the rest of the year goes.
Hardy and Edgerton were equally as great but I'd say that Edgerton is the more subtle of the two and the one I was partial to. Hardy played Tommy to be almost frightening. His intensity was incredible. Brendan was more sympathetic. More of a "good guy" while Tommy would be the "bad boy." It's not often that you have a story with two protagonists that antagonize each other. Sure, you can have multiple protagonist on the same team, but this film was not set up this way. I found it be quite unique in story structure.
But I have to say that one of the biggest reasons I liked it was that I had no idea how it was going to end. None. Which one would win? Would either of them win? Other sports movies are rather obvious. They follow one team or athlete and you get a feel about if they will succeed or not. But with two men to root for, how would the storyteller decide who should win? No matter what, people will be disappointed. I really admired the guts it took to tell a story like this. It seems that movies are playing it more safe. This can actually make them more dull. But the entire time, I kept thinking, "Who's going to win? Brendan or Tommy?"
The story and the acting were superb, and that, my friends, is why this is my favorite film of 2011.
Score: 10/10
OaTs: I can honestly say, that as of today, this is my favorite film of 2011 thus far, though I will admit that one film I saw at Sundance back in January comes pretty close. When I saw the trailer for the film, I knew immediately that I wanted to see it. Not because of the subject matter, but because of the cast. I was introduced to Joel Edgerton when I saw the Australian film Animal Kingdom at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. It was one of my favorites from the festival and I've kept up with the Aussie actors ever since. Edgerton was a standout and I believe, based on reports of upcoming films, that he just may have what it takes to make it in Hollywood.
I also liked Tom Hardy once I saw him in Inception last summer. Now, I don't want to get into a debate about that film, but I will say that Hardy was one of the few things I liked about Inception. So I kept up with him too. I didn't know that much about Nick Nolte's work, but I did know that he has had some personal problems. I hate that the way I knew him was through the media and not through film. So I was really excited to see him in something as well.
Boy was I in for a bigger treat than I ever could have thought. All three men really brought it. Nolte was truly heartbreaking as the alcoholic father. Through conversations, we come to find out that he was also abusive. The only thing he was good at was training Tommy as a fighter. Also an ex-marine, he understood - to an extent - what Tommy was going through after returning home. There are two quite memorable scenes of Nolte's that I can't quite shake. One with each son. I'd love if his work was recognized come Oscar time. And he just might stand a chance, depending on how the rest of the year goes.
Hardy and Edgerton were equally as great but I'd say that Edgerton is the more subtle of the two and the one I was partial to. Hardy played Tommy to be almost frightening. His intensity was incredible. Brendan was more sympathetic. More of a "good guy" while Tommy would be the "bad boy." It's not often that you have a story with two protagonists that antagonize each other. Sure, you can have multiple protagonist on the same team, but this film was not set up this way. I found it be quite unique in story structure.
But I have to say that one of the biggest reasons I liked it was that I had no idea how it was going to end. None. Which one would win? Would either of them win? Other sports movies are rather obvious. They follow one team or athlete and you get a feel about if they will succeed or not. But with two men to root for, how would the storyteller decide who should win? No matter what, people will be disappointed. I really admired the guts it took to tell a story like this. It seems that movies are playing it more safe. This can actually make them more dull. But the entire time, I kept thinking, "Who's going to win? Brendan or Tommy?"
The story and the acting were superb, and that, my friends, is why this is my favorite film of 2011.
Score: 10/10
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