a unexpected, neat lil dvd with something for everyone

FIGHTING

There’s a reason why Hollywood loves New York and its not just for its romance and glamour but also for its underbelly, its never say die spirit and its unmistakable hustler energy. And while FIGHTING is quite literally as its title suggests, about home grown Alabama boy struggling on the streets of NEW YORK till he gets into some big time money making fisticuffs and the story goes exactly where you expect it to, there is an idiosyncratic, real time mood director MUNTEIL creates and its clear he is extremely comfortable in MANHATTEN- its alleys, its high rises, its corner shops and its suburbs which makes the playground for this one that much more engaging despite the predictability.

I enjoyed the film and from someone who wouldn’t pick an action brawler on a normal basis that says a lot. For its refreshing clever humor, for its real, grounded, never melodramatic performances, for its energetically executed fights and great music that goes with em, for the gritty, palpable energy of the city, the relationship between a surprisingly good CHANNING and the always good HOWARD which for me the understated, moving centre of the piece and for ABUELA – an old Hispanic granny who steals the show in an unexpected comic scene!!