![]() ![]() The relationships between the main characters are well-drawn and convincing, and the climax to the film is both dramatic and moving.īeautifully lensed by cinematographer Ben Brahem Zinyab, ‘Prizefighter’ occasionally struggles to surmount its low budget origins – with some scenes too brief to achieve the depth they may have reached if they had been given longer to breathe. In his role as screenwriter, Hookings provides a well-paced narrative and several elegant flourishes, notably an adrenaline-inducing training montage scene, complete with a couple of neat homages to the ‘Rocky’ series. It is the chemistry between Hookings, Crowe and Winstone which lends the film its emotional weight, intensity and texture. It’s a winning performance, all the more impressive given the experienced company that he is surrounded by. Then there is Hookings himself, who manages to perfectly embody Belcher’s modest charm and style, while also impressing and convincing on a physical level. Jodhi May also impresses as Belcher’s mother Mary, and there are telling and compelling supporting turns from Marton Csokas as Lord Rushworth, Julian Glover as Lord Ashford and Steven Berkoff as Walter, a prisoner who imparts some crucial wisdom to Belcher while he is in prison. Crowe perfectly captures the dangerous charisma, but also the drunken excesses, of Belcher’s grandfather Jack Slack, himself a former champion of England, while Winstone excels as Bill Warr, Belcher’s trainer, lending the role grizzled and earthy charm. The film’s biggest virtue – however – is its stellar and accomplished cast. The fight sequences are professionally executed and manage to convey the violent reality of boxing, while neither glamourising nor condemning the sport. It is well paced and covers the major beats of Belcher’s career with heart and a fair amount of style. Why Does Puerto Rico Out Perform Every Other Country In Producing Boxing World Champions?įor the most part, ‘Prizefighter’ has been well worth the long wait. Indeed, ‘Prizefighter’ has been for Hookings – the son of former British heavyweight champion David ‘Bomber’ Pearce – a passion project which has taken around a decade of writing and rewriting, as well as financial wheeling and dealing, to reach fruition. It is to the credit of Matt Hookings – the star, producer and writer of ‘Prizefighter’ – that he spotted the dramatic potential of Belcher’s life story and career, while also possessing the drive and determination to bring the project to the screen, despite myriad obstacles and setbacks. Friend and fellow boxer Bill Warr was so grief-stricken at Jem’s funeral – for which thousands lined the streets of Soho – that he hurled himself on top of Belcher’s coffin as it was being lowered into the earth. Ultimately, he would not live to see his 31st birthday, succumbing to depression and drink. An accident in 1803 deprived him of sight in one eye and presaged his pugilistic ruin – he fought three more times despite being dreadfully handicapped, losing on each occasion. Jem’s fall from grace – sadly – was almost as rapid as his meteoric rise. Famed Georgian boxing scribe Pierce Egan hailed Belcher as “a perfect phenomenon in the gymnastic art”, while Arthur Conan Doyle later featured him as a character in his novel ‘Rodney Stone’ and P.G. Many of them – alas – were also tragic figures, and none more so than the superlatively talented James ‘Jem’ Belcher, the Bristol stylist who many of his contemporaries regarded as the most talented pugilist of them all.Ī teenage prodigy, when Belcher defeated Andrew Gamble on 22 December 1800 to become universally recognised as the Champion of England, he was just 19 years, eight months and seven days old. The rotating cast of colourful characters who populated the golden age of boxing – including Jack Broughton, Daniel Mendoza, Tom Cribb and Tom Molineaux – were often as mercurial as they were talented. Nevertheless, it occupied a prominent position within the British national consciousness and social-cultural landscape unmatched at any other point in its long history. ![]() ![]() In the 1700s and 1800s pugilism was – of course – still a gloveless sport, as well as something of a renegade activity, whose legal status was open to debate. ![]() ‘Prizefighter’ – however – is the first film to feature a narrative built around the days of boxing’s early evolution. ![]()
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