If there is a goal in life, then there will be forces to fight. Perhaps this is the main idea of the dramatic picture "Left-Handed", released in 2015 on screens. In the center of the plot is boxer Billy Hope, who knowingly carries a surname, which in translation means hope. Billy's all very bad, and in an instant. The only way to revive from the ashes remains the profession with which he wanted to say goodbye. What to do to the unsuccessful boxer, on whom the heavens have seemed angry? The picture gives an answer.
Canvas
Enough has already been told to the world of stories about how a person who is offended by life rises from his knees. Each time, these stories are served with a sauce of romance, tears, selfless speeches and impressive soundtracks. In 2015, the film was released, which was worthy of competition for "Baby in a Million." This is the drama Lefty by American director Antoine Fukua , scripted by Kurt Sutter, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Fores Whitaker. Critics quite ambiguously met the film. Yes, the vast majority admired the play of Jake Gyllenhaal, but the plot and the game of other actors were negatively evaluated. Of course, an overabundance of sentimental prices, a clearly miscalculable finale and a battered topic played a role. However, the story is still pretty good. Maybe the scriptwriters didn’t have enough imagination or the actors themselves blundered?
According to the plot
In the center of the story is Billy Hope, who even received the nickname Great. He is the world light heavyweight boxing champion. This is the pinnacle of sporting fame. In addition, Billy Hope has everything you could wish for. He has an impressive career, a lot of money, a beautiful and loving wife, and a charming daughter named Leila. Billy is terribly lacking in homework, as he spends all his time at work. Often, Billy Hope's wife asks him to leave the sport. And so it is being decided. He announces his retirement at a party. But here the first and most terrible disaster happens: the wife dies during a quarrel with another boxer. Hope’s world collapses, and the meaning of life goes away. Following him leaves the manager and close friend Jordan Mines. By the way, his role was played by Curtis Jackson. Billy Hope is rolling downhill, and his behavior leads to a new collapse - the child protection service takes his daughter from him. How can a person return his life to normal? There is only one way left - to return to the world of boxing with the help of Tit Tick Wills, an ex-boxer who works part-time as a trainer in a local gym. True, the battle will be very difficult for him, but the goal is great - the return of trust of those whom he loves so much.
How was the preparation
Initially, the project was supposed to be completely different. When Dream Works launched a sports film in December 2010, Billy Hope could have been with Eminem's face. At least, the scriptwriter Kurt Sutter, who vividly declared himself the series “Sons of Anarchy”, said that he had been meeting with Eminem’s entourage for seven years, and he conceived the project, inspired by the singer’s personal story and his struggle in his own life. This picture could be a continuation of the film "Eighth Mile", but with a meta-formic narrative about the second chapter of fate for five years. Left-Handed could be a white hip-hop rapper interested in boxing, dangerous and completely unorthodox. In June 2011, after long negotiations, it became known that the director's place would be taken by Antoine Fucua. However, in August of that year, Dream Works abandoned the film. At the same time, information appeared that the estimated budget of the picture exceeds $ 30 million. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer took over the production and Columbia Pictures was responsible for the rental. And already in 2012, representatives of Eminem said that the singer had suspended work on the painting in order to give all attention to music. It would seem that this is a collapse ?! But the director signed a shooting contract with Jake Gyllenhaal. Then almost the cast changed.
About the protagonist
Billy Hope is a boxer with a good track record, and to realize his image is quite problematic for the actor. Therefore, Jake Gyllenhaal began intensified training. He worked out every day in the gym and even participated in sparring in the boxing ring! The fact that before that Gyllenhaal starred in the movie Stringer, for which he lost 30 pounds with a weight of 180 pounds, added complexity. The actor looked just exhausted. By the start of filming, he had regained his previous weight in just 6 months and even added an extra 15 pounds of lean muscle mass. His form was optimal for a professional boxer. Because of this, they began to compare him with Rocky Balboa, the character embodied by Sylvester Stallone. Repeatedly Antoine Fukua talked about the fact that due to intensive training Gyllenhaal actually broke up with Alice Miller.
Filming
The biography of Billy Hope was implemented in the state of Pennsylvania, calling in Pittsburgh and Indiana, as well as in many states of New York. Then the local artists worked hard, who painted graffiti on cardboards to turn the roads of Pittsburgh into the streets of the New York Bronx.
The work on the set was the last for the composer James Horner, who, by the way, worked on the soundtracks for "Titanic" and "Avatar". Horner died in a car accident in June in California. By the way, Eminem himself became the executive producer of the soundtrack, who wrote two singles for the film.
The world premiere of the picture took place on June 15, 2015.
What critics say
The biography of boxer Billy Hope received mixed reviews from critics. The play of Gyllenhaal was positively noted, but here the picture itself was considered purely within the framework of one genre. Just such a "typical" and became fatal to the picture. The rules of the genre are unbreakable here, but the story is kept afloat only by an impressive cast. According to critics, the film will attract mainly a male audience with a high level of testosterone. Focusing on the strong half of humanity seems excessive, so crowds of fans at shows are pointless to expect. In general, the story is rather sluggish, but Jake Gyllenhaal appeared here in an unexpected role for critics. However, too much attention was paid to the template material about the champion boxer, who is forced to go through severe trials in the name of a successful outcome. The film was called the heavy parable of retaliation, and the director in his work showed his passion for male aggression and violence. Here are almost all familiar cliches, including a gray-haired trainer who gives a chance for a happy future, a boxer who has returned to his native streets, a champion who speaks in plain language.
About boxing
What is interesting about Billy Hope? His photo seems to be the unity of all the boxers we know. He is already aged, he is a little over forty. He is no longer very far-sighted. He loves his wife very much, but until the last moment he doesn’t value her so much. The audience was disappointed precisely with the scene of farewell to his beloved wife. But boxing in the picture abound. From the very beginning of the invincible Billy Hope, nine rounds have been beaten in the fight for the belt. What helps the hero not to give up? Of course, the wife’s loving gaze, after which he knocks out the enemy with a couple of punches.
The story leads the viewer through Billy’s life, but quite predictably returns to the ring, where Billy meets with a guy partially involved in the death of his wife. The hero’s daughter, who manages to return, is watching the battle. And in the last round, Hope manages to repay his opponent with a left jab.
Movie Summary
Many viewers in the finale have a question about who is Billy Hope in life? Indeed, in the film it is difficult to understand. In fact, the film does not have a clear morality. Hope does not learn to control himself. He puts his daughter in danger. Philosophy in the picture is also not enough, as the coach broadcasts too obvious things. In general, it is worth watching a movie once, and only for the main character. Do not expect too strong impressions, but in general a pleasant viewing!