Southpaw Actors- a critique by Beyond The Trailer

Full-text transcript of the Southpaw review:

[00:00:00] Can Jake Gyllenhaal finally land a punch in the Oscar race? You’re watching Beyond the Trailers review of South Park.

[00:00:07] This court is aware of the tragedy your family has suffered. Mr.. Nonetheless, you have chosen to demonstrate dangerous behaviors while having custody of your daughter. You need help. It’ll be a year before your suspension. So it’s means zero income, legal custody of the child shall remain with family services until the father can demonstrate the abilities of a responsible parent.

[00:00:30] Basically, I don’t think I’m trying to say.

[00:00:38] Southpaw is slang for being left handed, which is unusual in boxing and baseball, often considered something to be overcome. Yet once overcome a quality, they can become a distinct advantage. And Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter, who scripted Southpaw, was particularly proud of the title because he intended it as a double entendre. See, Southpaw was originally written for Eminem and suttas for being a white hip hop artist is a parallel to being a left handed boxer. But alas, while Marshall Mathers had signed on to star in Southpaw in 2010 and what would be his follow up? Acting wise to Eight Mile a few years later, Eminem decided he was content to just produce and contribute to the soundtrack. And so Jake Gyllenhaal took on the lead role, another hot talent who seems to have the odds stacked against him. Yes, despite a string of impressive performances over the last few years, including source code and watch prisoners and Nightcrawler, Gyllenhaal hasn’t been nominated for an Oscar since 2006 with Brokeback Mountain. But speaking of Nightcrawler, well, that film didn’t earn him an Oscar nom. It did earn him a new level of respect among fans, many of whom felt he was robbed of that Oscar nom. And while Southpaw echoes his role in Nightcrawler in terms of physical transformation, one has to wonder if it will keep John Hall’s newfound momentum with fans going. And finally, Southpaw. The movie itself has the left handed equivalent of an awards release date bowing in late July with the hopes of getting out ahead of what’s going to be an incredibly competitive Oscar season. So does South Park overcome all its disadvantages and emerge a lean, mean awards fighting machine? It does have one heck of a trainer, Harvey Weinstein.

[00:02:24] So as I’ve said before, with television at an all time high these days in terms of quality, movies need to really make sure that they stay squarely on their A game to justify the extra expense of watching a movie. And while the acting and southpaw is definitely a game material, unfortunately the same cannot be said of the directing, the cinematography or even the writing. And the result is something that seems like a TV movie, but not even like the best TV movies that are available today. Another big problem is that we’ve seen this story so many times before and I understand that what’s supposed to be the big variable here is the death of Rachel McAdams character early on in the film and as is shown in the trailer. So that’s not a spoiler. But the problem there is that the movie is really like two different films, and the dividing point is her death. And the second movie, I have to say, is better. And that’s because the writing gets better. Jake Gyllenhaal performance is allowed to really thrive at that point. He like wakes up as a character. And also Forest Whitaker is in that second movie. And Forest Whitaker brings a lot of energy to the film when he finally enters the film. Now, I also can attest to the second movie being better here of this movie Southpaw, you know, again, being two movies. But the reason I say that the second half is better because that’s when the family behind me in the theater finally decided to stop talking throughout the entire film and actually watch it.

[00:03:56] So there are no surprises in Southport. You know exactly how this movie is going to go if you’ve ever watched a boxing movie in your life. So that means it all relies on the acting. And as I said, it is really quite superb here. Jake Gyllenhaal proves once again that he’s one of the best actors working today, although it’s very interesting that this role was originally written for Eminem because it points it almost seems like Jake Gyllenhaal is playing Eminem. And I have to say, it’s a shame that Marshall Mathers turned this role down because it really is tailor made for him. And I think he would have done an excellent job in the role which Jake Gyllenhaal constantly reminds you of, because he’s kind of also playing Eminem in addition to Billy Hope. But as for Jake Gyllenhaal performance on its own, I’d say what I enjoyed the most about it was watching his character evolve from this mad dog who just got by a natural talent to someone who became a true professional. And I’ve discussed this before on this channel that there is a difference between raw natural talent and then having it shaped and honed into what constitutes a professional. And I think it’s so often the media doesn’t pay attention to that and give it its do.

[00:05:03] So I really liked that aspect of the film that it underlined that, yes, even if you have raw talent, you can do more with it by becoming a professional. So I really liked that. Forest Whitaker, as I said, speaking of true professionals, he is a professional actor. He’s not only a wonderful actor, but he knows what he needs to do to make the film entertaining for the audience to watch. Again, he brought a lot of energy to the film, but unfortunately, he didn’t enter until, like the until like 30 minutes into the movie. So that’s also, again, what made it feel like two different films. But I really liked his character. Also, he has the added benefit of. Being the coach who dispenses the kind of life advice that’s meant for who he’s coaching, but, of course, the audience should listen to as well, one of the hallmarks of this type of film and this film does have those necessary moments. As Rachel McAdams When I reviewed pixels on Friday, some of you were upset about the way Ashley Benson’s character was portrayed in that film is a literal trophy wife. And I think you’ll be very pleased that in this film, Rachel McAdams, while kind of playing a trophy wife, does a really nice job of fleshing that character out and making her seem very real.

[00:06:11] Again, I don’t think the script does her character a great service either in the way she’s she’s written and then also how she her shadow doesn’t really linger over the rest of the movie as it should. Know again, you’re thinking more mnm than you are. Rachel McAdams, recently deceased, tragically deceased character. But I think Rachel McAdams does the best she can with what she’s given. And it’s nice to be reminded that she’s a good actress after having sat through a couple episodes of true detective season. Do their 50 Cent. 50 Cent is actually really good in this movie. You know, this movie does a good job of illustrating how athletes depend on their wives, or at least some of them do to kind of be like their second managers. And 50 Cent plays Billy Hope’s first manager, his legit manager. And I think 50 said this is the best I’ve ever seen him do in a movie, although it was a little weird watching the film, knowing that 50 Cent’s real life has come to Mirabilis hopes so much in terms of what happens to the character financially. And then finally, Oona Laurence, who plays Billy Hope’s daughter, very likeable, very talented actress, a little bit like a young Dakota Fanning. So we’ll see. Hopefully she does not share Dakota Fanning same fate. Speaking of real life fate, but she’s very talented and also very likeable, which is important because her character at a certain point in the film becomes unlikable.

[00:07:27] And that’s because the character does look like a 180. That seems unjustified. I know that it’s you know, obviously because of the tragedy that befalls the family, but the film worked so hard to set up a loving relationship between her and her father. But it just seems it doesn’t seem natural that she would turn on him so viciously and so easily. So I have to say, if you are a fan of watching a great acting on screen, if that’s enough for you, if you’re like I enjoy a master class in acting, then I think you’ll really enjoy yourself. Or you can just a fan of boxing movies in general and you can’t get enough of them no matter how similar they might be, or if you just really like Jake Gyllenhaal. I also think this is worth seeing for fans of the actor. So that’s who I think should go and see Park, but otherwise go right. Rocky, still the best boxing movie ever made or wait for Creed better yet, which is coming out later this year and it tries to do a little something different with that franchise. All right. That’s my review of South Park. Thank you so much for tuning in. Share your own thoughts about the film down below. I look forward to continuing this conversation. And you can check out some other episodes right now on.