“Day of the Fight” plays out like a common underdog movie and while it is not exactly a masterpiece, it doesn’t feel out of place either.
The movie chronicles the story of the Brooklyn fighter Irish Mike Flannigan (played by Michael Pitt) on the verge of a significant fight for him in almost a decade, only different from his other movies this piece gives insight into the personal life of the character a lot more. Irish is a local favorite but after a tragic car accident, he found himself serving time in jail that later branched out to a plethora of medical issues which made boxing look like a death wish to him.
It’s safe to assume, that as any normal human would do, Irish spends his final day on the Earth personalizing it with all of his loved ones and friends however, due to the circumstances of the past, the people around seem to know nothing about where Irish stands. He spends his last few hours with Perlman who plays his long term coach and recounts some good history, John Magaro takes on the role of his childhood friend who pursued a career in priesthood and the two have an honest conversation, Nicolette Robinson who played his ex wife also shares the screen with him in a few scenes followed by Joe Pesci who played the role of an abusive father summing up the broken family Irish had due to the traumatizing life events.
Actor Jack Huston follows in the footsteps of his grandfather John and now he is a director in his own right. “Fight” is a clear dedication to his boxing turned director grandfather who directed the hit movie “Fat City” in 1972 .
Like Flannigan, Huston is appreciative of “Raging Bull” the film by Martin Scorsese which stars Pesci (and is also an executive producer) and looks up to cameramen who use the black-and-white color palette. But Peter Simonite and Huston’s work present remarkable visuals that are almost comparable to photojournalism, which goes a long way to counteract the muted hues of the film. Unlike Robert De Niro’s Jake La Motta turning into a psychotic disturbed soul, Flannigan doesn’t ever lose his cool: rather, like Eminem’s “8 Mile”, he is more centered into a folder in combination with an unassuming hard-working self-reliant rapper B-Rabbit.
The storyline of “Fight” looks to be a collage of characters, much like Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester by the Sea” with his hard as nails self, Pitts, being the life-changing hand that caused the greatest form of distress. Even though ‘Fight’ pulls the viewer in with slow paced and engaging performances, the plot is extremely generic.
Huston and his cast seem to have taken an approach that’s far more relaxed and wide in what they’re searching for as actors, conveying the motional essence to the viewers through the characters they play instead. Given the fact the entire showcase of the movie focuses on Pitt, why would it be any surprise that despite now being in his forties, the surrounded feeling when seeing him is still a youthful modern day Rockstar. Flannigan, still trying to come to terms with the damage he’s caused is portrayed as someone who’s firm yet calm with his words. A character who would never hesitate to teach a lesson to an obnoxious bully or an immature teen, all he had to do was ask, right?
Looking at it from the angle of villain purification alongside the Chicago mob, ‘Day of the Fight’ seems like the best alternative for Pitt in the numerous ‘tough years’ he spent in the limelight.
Pitt’s character tries to settle everything with the people he has dealt with before starting off his last project for which he shows us that all the drama that has surrounded him in the past has never interfered with his craft. If you consider the case to be big, Pitt treats it with the said seriousness and significance in what I have seen is him being wholly engaged in the moment, just like Flannigan. And that’s what makes “Day of the Fight” a sight to see.
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