The Fighter (2010)
Nominated producer(s): David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, Mark Wahlberg
Director: David O. Russell
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, Jack McGee
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Other Oscar noms/wins:
director, supporting actor (Christian Bale, winner), supporting actress (Amy Adams), supporting actress (Melissa Leo, winner), film editing (Pamela Martin)
Thus movie is marks the start of David O. Russell’s relentless pursuit of Oscar Gold, after shepherding zany, offbeat comedies like “Flirting with Disaster” (1996) and “I Heart Huckabees” (2004).
In “The Fighter,” he depicted juicily the life of boxer Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg), who is trying to escape the shadow of his troubled brother Dickie (Christian Bale).
Still one of the strongest of Russell’s films, The Fighter is one of few boxing movies (Scorsese’s Raging Bull is another one), where the fights outside the ring outweigh the ones inside.
“The Fighter” benefited from one of history’s most aggressive awards campaigns (that paid off) “CONSIDER” with supporting actress winner Melissa Leo’s face was plastered across ads.
“The Fighter” lost to another biopic, the inferior British melodrama “The King’s Speech.”
