In Retrospect, I Preferred The Song

In the clearing stand a boxer,
and a fighter by his trade, and he
carries a reminder of every glove that laid him down
or clapped him 'til he cried out,
in his anger and his shame,
"I am leaving, I am leaving, but
the fighter still remains."

You know that old saw about how you should never act with kids or animals, because they'll upstage you? I've always thought if that happened, the actor in question wasn't all that good to begin with. Anyways, I'd change the "kids and animals" part of that sentence to "Daniel Day-Lewis". The problem with The Boxer (1997) is that, in this case, Daniel Day-Lewis upstages the entire movie.

Set in West Belfast during the tail end of the Troubles, The Boxer follows one Danny Flynn (Day-Lewis), released from prison fourteen years after his role in an IRA bombing. Danny's done with fighting - he's cut himself off from his old IRA friends and contacts, and just wants the killing to stop, and so he resurrects the old nonsectarian boxing club that petered out during his incarceration. Though he still enjoys boxing, he doesn't want to fight so much as he wants to make a statement - a fact his old friends and new enemies are well aware of. On top of this, the IRA is in the middle of a deadly rift, as leader Joe is contemplating a cease-fire unpopular with the men who remain out for as much British and Protestant blood as possible, and their competing interests make Danny a threat to both. On top of this, prior to his arrest Danny was involved with Joe's daughter, Maggie (Emily Watson, Punch-Drunk Love), and though its been fourteen years and Maggie is now married to Danny's best friend (also incarcerated) and has a son, they're still itching to pick up where they left off. Ruh-roh!

The big problem with The Boxer is that the dialogue, from writer-director-producer Jim Sheridan (In the Name of the Father, In America), is of a grade I'd call "first-year film student". It's florid, melodramatic, and, at times, it's worse than bad, especially when Danny and Maggie talk about their feelings. It's hard to find the interesting things a film has to say when it says them so ill. The Boxer could have been a pretty good commentary on how when the other side won't back down and the adjudicator won't get involved, the only way to end a fight is by stopping it yourself - in this, Danny's actions parallel where Joe is headed. The film has some nice twists on the typical boxing movie; for example, Danny kept in shape in prison, and it's his former trainer who's the depressed, washed-up alcoholic. In the end, though, it's too long, not good enough, and the only reason to watch it if for Daniel Day Lewis' performance. Not that the rest of the main cast are slouches, but he's, well... There's a scene early on where Danny's having breakfast with his trainer after his first night out of jail, and he actually looks tired. I don't know how else to explain it, but most actors can't look truly tired - Day-Lewis makes his co-star's hungover alcoholic-in-withdrawal look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Yeah. Watch it if you'd like an acting lesson, otherwise, there are many better ways to spend an evening. And no, "The Boxer" was not written for The Boxer, as it's thirty years older, nor is it used in the film..