The Boxer (1997)
A movie review by Michael J. Legeros
Copyright 1998 by Michael J. Legeros
(Uni) Directed by Jim Sheridan Written by Jim Sheridan and Terry George Cast Daniel Day-Lewis, Emily Watson, Brian Cox, Ken Stott, Gerard McSorley, Ciaran Fitzgerald MPAA Rating "R" (presumably for violence and profanity) Running Time 108 minutes Reviewed at The Cary Imperial, Raleigh, NC (10JAN98)
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Though not particularly engaging as either a sports film or an IRA drama, THE BOXER *does* boast a great love story. Daniel Day-Lewis and Emily Watson (BREAKING THE WAVES) play Danny and Maggie, former teen lovers rekindling their romance almost a decade-and-a-half after Danny was sent up the river for IRA activities. He's out of prison, but not out of hot water. Seems Maggie's now a prisoner's wife, having married another IRA lad in the interim. And she's not supposed to date-- no prisoner's wife is. (They risk broken kneecaps, among other forms of societal scorn.) Now, for Maggie, the situation is even *more* dicey, 'cause her dad (Brian Cox) is an IRA bigwig. He's trying to negotiate a cease-fire that not everyone in his Belfast group is supporting, so he can't afford even the *appearance* of impropriety. He's also observed that Danny has gone the way of the pacifist, forgoing his IRA ties in favor of a more localized goal: renovating the community center into a sports gym. Got it? Yeah, there's lots going on here-- arguably too much for this third collaboration between Daniel Day-Lewis and director Jim Sheridan (IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, MY LEFT FOOT). Neither the sports stuff nor the IRA in-fighting ends up particularly affecting, but it does keep your brain busy. (Do *all* Brits watch fights as if in a dinner-theater, with no shouting or yelling? Or just the upper-crust?) The romance is right there, though, thanks to two well-paired actors and enough obstacles in their characters' paths to ensure that tears will flow, no matter which way the story goes. Bring a hankie.
Grade: B-
-- Mike Legeros - Movie Hell http://www.nonvirtual.com/hell
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