‘Southpaw’: Jake Gyllenhaal boxing drama takes some jabs from critics

As the tragedy-stricken pugilist Billy “The Great” Hope, Jake Gyllenhaal takes his lumps both in and out of the ring in director Antoine Fuqua’s new redemption drama “Southpaw.”

But while the bulked-up Gyllenhaal is earning some solid notices for his latest performance, reviews for the film as a whole are mixed, with many critics saying “Southpaw” is technically well-shot but ultimately clichéd and wearying.

The Times’ Kenneth Turan writes, “If you admire the shameless in cinema, if you consider yourself a connoisseur of contrivance, you’re going to have to tip your glove in the direction of ‘Southpaw,’ a boxing melodrama so gleefully preposterous attention must be paid. … Viewers will be forgiven for being impressed by ‘Southpaw’s’ logic-be-damned nerve in just going for it, in believing it’s an original even though fans of sweet science cinema will recognize plot elements familiar from predecessors too numerous to name.”

As for the cast, Turan says Rachel McAdams is “underutilized” playing Billy’s wife, while Forest Whitaker “has some nice moments” as his sage trainer. But “the actor everyone will be noticing in this film is Gyllenhaal, who, as usual, has completely thrown himself into this performance.” And yet, as impressive as Gyllenhaal’s physical presence is, the character “does not seem an ideal match” for him, lacking a certain spark of intelligence.

The Washington Post’s Ann Hornaday similarly calls “Southpaw” a “by-the-numbers boxing picture that benefits considerably from its star’s tenacious, fiercely obvious commitment.” The movie “combines the training narrative from ‘Rocky,’ the visceral ringside energy of ‘Raging Bull’ and the rank melodrama of ‘Million Dollar Baby’ to make something, if not new, then at least stylish in its derivativeness.”

She adds that Gyllenhaal “proves himself a compelling, even mesmerizing presence amidst the action, even at its most hyperbolic and clichéd. … ‘Southpaw’ may be rote, predictable and mawkish, but none of those faults lie in its star. Even when he looks like an unholy mess, he transcends the movie he’s in.”

The Associated Press’ Jake Coyle adds, “As a tale of transformation, ‘Southpaw’ functions two ways. There’s the story of Billy Hope striving to build his life back. And then there’s the tale of the actor who plays him. The latter packs the bigger punch.”

Coyle continues: “If the footwork of ‘Southpaw,’ written by Kurt Sutter (‘Sons of Anarchy’), is never light as a feather, its heart is seldom in doubt. The solid acting, led by Gyllenhaal and Whitaker, liven up the clichés, and Fuqua’s deep affection for the sport gives the movie a brisk, entertaining earnestness.”

The Village Voice’s Stephanie Zacharek says “Southpaw” is “an exhausting brutalist melodrama” that starts promisingly but “doesn’t have enough dramatic spring to win us back.” Fuqua “heaps the movie’s first half with so much misery that by the time Forest Whitaker shows up … we already feel beaten to the consistency of hamburger.”

At least one critic considers “Southpaw” a knockout: The San Francisco Chronicle’s Mick LaSalle declares it “one of the great films of 2015. It’s a boxing movie that hits most of the stations of the boxing genre — the cruelty of the business, the devotion of the trainer, and the ring as the crucible of disgrace or redemption — but it’s nothing like a formula film. The experience of ‘Southpaw’ is rather like seeing the truth behind the clichés, revived in all their pain and power to surprise.”

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