Jack Goes Confidential: Jake Gyllenhaal Scores Agonizing Knockout

There are two sides to the movie SOUTHPAW…

One is the boxing story of a heavy hitter falling from the top of the heap to the bottom of the barrel—then crawling back against all odds.

The other is the sensational performance by Jake Gyllenhaal who certainly elevated creepy in last year’s NIGHTCRAWLER.

In SOUTHPAW Gyllenhaal is at the top of his game as light heavyweight boxing champ Billy The Great Hope.

Lots of victories. Great family. Great home. Tons of money.

But warnings of permanent injuries are starting to set in.

Then the unthinkable happens.

His wife (Rachel McAdams) falls victim to a random bullet at a fundraiser where tempers were flaring.

The loss is more than Gyllenhaal can bear. His whole life is falling apart.

And not only does he lose almost all of his worldly possessions, but his 11 year old daughter (Oona Laurence) is taken away by Family Services.

But now—and there’s ALWAYS a but in these kind of stories—Gyllenhaal turns to inner city gym trainer Forest Whitaker for a complete rebuild.

We’re talking from square one—anger management and all.

I’m not giving away the ending. Suffice it to say that you can probably figure it out for yourself.

Call him the great white DOPE, or whatever. One thing is for sure. You haven’t see such a devastating and gut-wrenching acting performance in some time.

Gyllenhaal should surely pick up another Oscar nomination here.

He really IS a raging bull in this movie!

Which makes me wonder why the films’ distributor chose to release it during the height of summer? These type of serious, hard hitting action dramas usually play much better during the fall season as we approach possible Academy Award contenders.

But since Weinstein is releasing it you can count on Harvey leaving no stone unturned to properly lobby the Academy for at least a Best Actor nomination.

The film is dedicated to the late James Horner whose terrific musical score is a great asset to its presentation.

Determining a rating for SOUTHPAW is not easy.

With the above review in mind I am scoring the movie on two fronts.

First for the film itself I’m handing it a B.

But for Jake Gyllenhaal’s raging (bull) performance, it’s a pure A.

(Reviewed at Alamo Drafthouse)

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