Bleed For This
Director: Ben Younger
Stars: Miles Teller, Aaron Eckhart, Katey Sagal
Duration: 117 mins
Class: 15
KRS Releasing Ltd
The 29-year-old Miles Teller has been building up a solid acting career since his debut in 2010’s Rabbit Hole alongside Nicole Kidman. With roles in frat-boy comedies Project X (2012) and 21 and Over (2013), and action-adventures The Divergent Series and last year’s poorly-received Fantastic Four reboot, his dramatic chops have always been on show, with his award-nominated supporting performance in the acclaimed Whiplash garnering attention.
Teller now headlines Bleed for This, an intimate, solidly executed, based-on-a-true-story drama, turning in a strong and charismatic performance as boxer Vinny Pazienza, whose story is the stuff comeback legends are made of,
Just as his career was about to take off in the late 1980s, Pazienza was advised to give up boxing by promoter Lou Deva (Ted Levine) after a humiliating defeat in the Junior Welterweight category. Rather hard-headed by nature, not only does he refuse to retire, but Pazienza moves up two weight classes with the help of his new trainer Kevin Rooney (Aaron Eckhart). Thanks to this training regime, Pazienza gains the extra pounds he needs and goes on to become Super Middleweight champion of the world.
Ticks all the right sporting movie boxes
It is not long, however, before tragedy strikes and a sudden, violent car crash leaves the young boxer with serious injuries including a broken neck that threatens his ability to walk and ultimately his career. Against his doctors’ advice, he opts for a risky, so-called ‘halo’ spine-stabilisation treatment that entails wearing a circular metal brace screwed directly into his skull for six months and embarks on the recovery period at his parents’ home. And yet, unbeknownst to his family, Vinny - Pazienza by name and certainly patient by nature – slowly starts training once again, determined to make it back into the boxing ring.
With its depiction of his initial successes, the unexpected tribulations, the lows, the highs, the training montages, and the – spoiler alert! – ultimate triumphs, it is undeniable that Bleed for This ticks all the right sporting movie boxes. Although it can’t avoid some of the clichés associated with the genre, its own triumph lies in its unassuming approach. It is, indeed, a fascinating and moving story of a remarkable comeback; yet, director/screenwriter Ben Younger commendably avoids over-sentimentality and lets the characters tell the story with gritty authenticity. Working class Rhode Island is used as a backdrop and most of the action takes place outside the ring, although the fight scenes themselves are powerful and realistically bloody.
In a compelling and nuanced performance, Teller expertly channels the various stages Pazienza experiences throughout his ordeal. He starts off as a cocky, enthusiastic and rather immature young boxer forced to grow up rather suddenly as he takes on the frustrations and anger brought on by the horrific accident and channels those negative emotions into the dogged determination that took him back to the ring.
As the actor takes the boxer on his journey, you are with him all the way, warts and all, as the Pazmanian Devil makes his way back into the ring in an inspiring example of defeating the most incredible physical and emotional odds.
As Pazienza was supported by his close-knit, very religious Italian-American family, Teller is given excellent support. This is most notably so by an unrecognisable Aaron Eckhart as his loyal trainer, Rooney. Eckhart’s Rooney is a balding, overweight man at the end of his career, initially reluctant to train Vinny in his condition, yet ultimately key to his comeback. There is also Ciaran Hinds as Pazienza’s domineering yet devoted father Angelo, who has to overcome his overprotectiveness towards his son.