The Fighter

The Fighter is a 2010 American biographical sports drama film directed by David O. Russell, and stars Mark Wahlberg (who also produced), Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo. The film centers on the lives of professional boxer Micky Ward (Wahlberg) and his older half-brother and former boxer Dicky Eklund (Bale). The film was inspired by the 1995 documentary that features the Eklund-Ward family, titled High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell. The Fighter was released in theaters on December 17, 2010, by Paramount Pictures. The film grossed $129 million worldwide and received largely positive reviews, with critics praising the performances; many comments regarding Bale's weight, accent, and mannerisms widely refer his performance as one of the greatest performances of the century. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning the awards for Best Supporting Actor (Bale) and Best Supporting Actress (Leo). Plot Micky Ward is an American welterweight boxer from Lowell, Massachusetts. Managed by his mother, Alice Ward, and trained by his older half-brother, Dicky Eklund, Micky became a "stepping stone" for other boxers to defeat on their way up. Dicky, a former boxer whose peak of success was going the distance with Sugar Ray Leonard in 1978, has become addicted to crack cocaine. He is being filmed for an HBO documentary he believes to be about his "comeback". On the night of an undercard fight in Atlantic City, Micky's scheduled opponent Saoul Mamby is ill, and a substitute is found in Mike Mungin who is 20 pounds heavier than Micky, a huge difference in professional boxing, constituting two or three weight classes. Despite Micky's reservations, his mother and brother agree so that they can all get the purse and tell Micky that the fighter is out of shape and has ring rust. They arrive at the fight and find that the substitute fighter is actually ready for the fight and in top shape, and soundly defeats Micky. Micky retreats from the world and forms a relationship with Charlene Fleming, a former college athlete who dropped out and became a bartender.