it.The darkest moments of the film were where it shined. These moments were extremely believable, and because of this, they were moments that viewers could relate to. If you know pain, which many do, one can recognize and feel the pain of another because pain in unambiguous. If you are able to feel the pain of Billy Hope, you can see yourself on screen and you know exactly how he is feeling and the context of that moment which can be a powerful moment for the viewer.For those who are familiar with Sons of Anarchy and Kurt Sutter's work, there was a parallel where "sins of the father" comes into play where the child is thrust into the past of the parent. I think this again, played very well into the emotion of the film.Give it a watch, but do so as a sponge absorbing the context and emotion of each scene. You'll enjoy it and relate to it much better that way. You don't have to be a boxer or go through what Billy Hope does to relate to the story.

better than the Fighter from a few years back...such an intense story. If Jake Gyllenhal doesn't win best actor Oscar for this movie then I have lost all respect for the academy! Forest Whitaker earns a nomination as well, overall amazing!!!!!

serious competition it ain't about how hard you hit its about how hard you can get hit well creed lets hope this time its how hard you can hit otherwise might as well be game over and not even release the film

I wouldn't have expected to like Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson in a role as much as I did. Jake Gyllenhaal and Forest Whitaker had Oscar worthy performances. Everyone did a great job with their roles. The cinematography was fantastic, and the fight scenes gave some great first person shots that made you feel as though you were there in the ring fighting along side the actors. Overall, this movie is an experience that is not to be missed. 9/10

go in a downward spiral that sees him both lose his boxing licence and his daughter, Leila Oona Laurence , to child protection services.Billy turns to trainer Tick Wills Forest Whitaker to help him get his life back on track. Carry on down the same path and Billy could lose his daughter forever however, putting his focus into a return to boxing could see Billy regain everything he lost after the death of his wife.As mentioned before, the film focuses more on the man than the sport however, Southpaw is one of the only boxing dramas I have seen where the sport of boxing actually feels like a character in the film, not just a backdrop for the drama.Southpaw does become a bit predictable and features quite a few clichés, which can't be helped in this genre, but director Antoine Fuqua does a good job in making sure Southpaw has a bit of a cutting edge to it. This is a hard hitting drama that isn't scared to throw the hardest of punches at its audience.After leaving the cinema, I read that Eminem had been lined up for the role of Billy Hope when the film first came into production. How different a film that would have been. I could not be more thankful that the studio decided not to follow through with that and instead decided to cast Gyllenhaal in the role instead.Gyllenhaal is an actor who makes it clear that he takes his roles very seriously and you can see that from the transformation he has put his body through, becoming almost unrecognisable from the skinny Lou Bloom in Nightcrawler. His gruelling six month training regime certainly makes him look like a boxer but his decision to learn the boxing techniques means he moves like a boxer too, making the performance even more authentic.The transformation would mean absolutely nothing without the performance to match though. As expected, Gyllenhaal gives an absolute powerhouse of a performance in Southpaw that really raises the quality of the film because without him, this would be quite an average film. I struggle to think of an actor right now on a hotter streak in Hollywood than Gyllenhaal.Forest Whitaker, as usual, adds a quality to proceedings and Rachel McAdams does a fine job in her small role, which would have been better if we hadn't seen her characters outcome in the trailers. Oona Laurence gives an impressive performance as the young Leila and I didn't even mind 50 Cent or Rita Ora being cast in the film.The boxing sequences are very good as well, with the use of POV shots in particular injecting the sequences with adrenaline and making the audience feel every single punch thrown.While Southpaw isn't the masterpiece that Raging Bull is, it certainly sees Fuqua make his best film since Training Day. Led by another top performance from Gyllenhaal, maybe Southpaw will make the voters this awards season stand up and take notice of his talent, not ignore it like they did with Nightcrawler.

DRUGS won't save anyone from a man more dangerous than the ZODIAC killer himself. Jake's punches manipulate time more frequently than SOURCE CODE and DONNIE DARKO ever could, leaving his victim a CRAWLER in the NIGHT. Now prepare yourselves and your BROTHERS, for this excellent RENDITION of a man angered by the Oscar BUBBLE this BOY could not pop. Coming to a theater near you the DAY AFTER July 23.

realistic portrayal of sociopathic pseudo-video journalist Louis Bloom. He was overlooked at the Oscars of the Best Actor nomination he clearly deserved. With this meaty role, Gyllenhaal set out to prove that that his transformative performance last year was not a fluke at all.His performance here as Billy Hope is another triumph of his very serious and committed method acting style. Here, Gyllenhaal again undergoes a total physical transformation into a grizzled prizefighter with a buff hardened physique, scarred face and swollen eye. We feel every ache of his weary body as he shuffles in his gait. His speech is already slurred with probable nerve damage. We see and sense the ravages of his vicious sport on him.He captured the character of an impulsive man who was not too savvy in life, and easily driven to violently angry tendencies. As Billy's world collapses around him, Gyllenhaal brings us all down to his hell with him. We totally see the unraveling of a man until a mere shadow of him remained. Then we would witness how he humbles himself as he tries to bring the shattered pieces of his life back together again. This was in addition to all the pounding he had in the boxing ring itself. This was truly an acting tour de force by Gyllenhaal which simply cannot be ignored.The actors in supporting roles all share in Gyllenhaal's shine. Despite her name being so prominent in the poster, Rachel McAdams appeared on screen only for a very short time. In that limited time, we clearly see the effect of her strong character Maureen on her husband Billy. Bespectacled little Oona Laurence plays their spirited daughter Leila. Gyllenhaal and Laurence share some pretty intensely emotional scenes together.Forest Whitaker plays Tick Wills, the tough disciplinarian of a trainer whom Billy chose to bring him back on track. I thought it was clever how they even include Whitaker's left eye into the story. Curtis "50 Cent" Smith plays Billy's fair-weather manager Jordan Mains. He really has this sleazy vibe about him with his flashy smile and shiny suits.Director Antoine Fuqua effectively wrung all the right emotions out of this story. The storytelling is well-paced and the camera work is compelling. The fight scenes were well-choreographed and executed on screen -- very brutal, bloody, all with high tension. The first person point of view during the fights puts you right in the midst of all the action.The musical score contributes so much to the drama of this film. This is also the last film James Horner scored before his untimely demise in a plane crash recently. We also hear Eminem rap in the soundtrack. It is interesting to note that Eminem was actually the original choice to play Billy Hope.Boxing is a common sport tackled in movies because of its inherent drama. "Rocky", "Raging Bull", "Million Dollar Baby" and "The Fighter" easily come to mind as among the best of them ever made. This is why we may feel we have seen this story In "Southpaw" told in another way before. However, the grippingly honest acting of Jake Gyllenhaal definitely set this film apart from others. He made "Southpaw" a most extraordinary boxing film to watch. 8/10.

and is very gritty. On the negative side of things there is not much to say. It was well paced, well directed, and very well acted by everyone. It earns a solid 8/10.

barely have the time to see Gyllenhaal and McAdams' characters, we didn't need more because we were instantly dragged towards an emotional charge that never abandons the plot and whose "legacy" is carried on the main actor's shoulders.Gyllenhaal doesn't skip a beat and keeps his character's pain and rage constantly vivid in every detail - we feel it because we've somewhat experienced in our lives what it means to lose someone we love and feel lost afterward. We felt the struggle coming after the loss of a bond as strong as that one. That's why his performance is relentless and immaculate.Truth is that the genuine side of "Southpaw"'s plot is based on the main character's fall and his irreproachable route to stand up again, reach the top once more. Only this time, the fight has completely changed and the goals are different, goals that make us question what we really fight for in our life.You already know this story but not told under these terms. Hollywood has crafted good flicks about fighters/boxers in the last few years and "Southpaw" follows a line that is close to the more recent "Warrior", starring Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy due to its "underdog" screenplay. What makes this movie different from the rest is the ineluctable emotion that never departs and befalls us, stirring and stirring our inner feelings.We don't always need to criticize a movie for its predictability. "Southpaw" is predictable but it's also honest in assuming itself as such because its purpose - and I believe, Antoine Fuqua's purpose - is to divert our attention towards something more meaningful. And when a movie pierces the bone to reach our heart and soul with this impact, then it deserves our respect and acknowledgment."Southpaw" is, quite simply, liberating.