Making a boxing film is easy – well, as easy as making any film can be – but making a truly distinctive boxing film is a different matter entirely. For every Raging Bull there are a million Grudge Matches, and it’s one of the few genres without a proper modern classic to fall back on. Enjoying its world premiere at this year’s Raindance Festival, Heavyweight stakes its claim as a truly outstanding modern boxing film, which admirably tries something new and exciting.
The film stars Jordan Bolger as Derek ‘Diamond’ Douglas, a young boxer stepping in to fight the current heavyweight champion at the last minute. We follow every step of his journey from arriving at the venue on the night to walking out in front of the crowd – and powerfully, that’s it. That means no training montages, few fight sequences, and a much sharper focus on character development and narrative tension.
This swing from first-time director Christopher M. Anthony is a bold one, but it certainly works in Heavyweight‘s favour. Many boxing films, especially without big studio backing, fall at the first hurdle: fight scenes that look overly choreographed and fake. This film eschews that concern entirely, and is a much more engaging experience because of it. Clearly inspired by the sublime Boiling Point, it’s much more interested in the mental battles that occur before stepping into the ring.
The whole gamut of emotions unfurls across Heavyweight, and it’s subtle with how these topics are slowly unpicked. We see sibling rivalry and dependence, feelings of betrayal, and more than a little bit of simmering anger – and the claustrophobic single-setting structure makes it even more suffocating. Nicholas Pinnock particularly thrives in this environment as Derek’s trainer, Adam, who clearly has so much emotional investment in his fighter’s career – but equally isn’t afraid to bend the rules or withhold information to get him into the ring.
The whole cast is particularly strong on this front, even if Bolger’s main character feels a bit too generic and stilted to ever fully connect with. The ever-reliable Jason Isaacs is particularly magnetic as a clear Eddie Hearn pastiche, and Andor‘s Joplin Sibtain plays a small but anchoring role as one of the backroom staff. There’s even an Inbetweeners alum in the shape of Blake Harrison as an event co-ordinator clearly struggling to steer the ship in the face of seemingly existential conflict in Derek’s dressing room.
And conflict is the name of the game, because while there isn’t an out-and-out fight in Heavyweight, there’s plenty of verbal sparring. It even touches on some subjects you’d never expect to see, with an especially well-handled panic attack sequence that really stands out.
The whole thing looks gorgeous as well, even if some of the fleeting fight scenes look relatively wonky. Director of Photography Chas Appeti does a great job of capturing the dynamism of a pre-fight dressing room, with plenty of jittery camerawork that stabilises very naturally during extended back-and-forth conversations.
For boxing fans who want something a bit more political rather than action-heavy, Heavyweight is quite unlike anything else out there. It’s hard not to admire the bold narrative swing that Anthony takes, and it’s proof that good characterisation and narrative is just as, if not more important than weighty fight sequences. Traditionalists may be put off by its left-field direction, but it’s more ambitious than a lot of modern sports films – and a better, more refreshing experience for it.
The story itself isn’t groundbreaking – down-and-out fighter pulls himself out of adversity to make it big time – but the way in which Heavyweight‘s narrative unfolds is remarkable. It’s bound to be polarising with purists, and some of its moving parts don’t quite gel, but the film’s undeniable bravery and truly unique conceit carry it to the final bell. It’s not only a refreshing watch, but one of the best British boxing films as a result.
★★★½
Heavyweight celebrates its World Premiere as the opening feature at 33rd Raindance Film Festival on June 19.
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