![]() The final fight becomes, therefore, almost a suicide mission – Belcher putting himself in a position where he is forced to give up a profession which is endangering his health. ![]() Hookings gives Belcher an addictive personality incapable of relinquishing the rewards he has achieved or the adrenaline rush of combat. Yet the boxers, while in the ring, are portrayed as professionals doing their jobs- it is only when out of that environment they succumb to temptation. No effort is made to glamorise the violence involved with unflinching depictions of bare fists smacking bloodily into raw flesh. The attitude towards boxing is ambiguous both celebrating the sport while acknowledging its brutal effect. The lighting is naturalistic so when indoors characters may, realistically, be obscured by the limitations of candlelight or be framed by ravishing scenery while outdoors. Graham sets an authentic nineteenth century atmosphere despite the inevitable limitations of actors all having good teeth and their clothes being clean although well-worn. There are not a lot of laughs although Russell Crowe lightens the tone going for the full Falstaff with his rueful boozy womanising grandfather.ĭirector Daniel Graham does his best to avoid the clichés associated with sports movies but, even so, a training montage pops up and a character who swore never to attend a boxing match appears at a crucial moment to offer Belcher inspiration. ![]() An historical context is given with well-known actors appearing in cameo roles describing how boxing originated in ancient Greece or debating the merits of the sport. Weighting categories are mentioned and boxing gloves introduced. Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher catches boxing at the point where it shifts from a shady underground entertainment like cockfighting into a respectable sport. ![]() Boxing, in a somewhat purple phrase, is said to be a stepladder by which a pauper can become a prince yet there are modern-day parallels as Belcher’s success results in him being treated as a celebrity and over-indulging in the associated easy access to booze and sex. Belcher is forced into a brutal occupation by the limited opportunities open to his social class and his vulnerability to exploitation early in the film he is shown as being short-changed by his boss. Matt Hookings treats the film as a morality/ cautionary tale with a strong undertone of class-consciousness. Tiring of being exploited by employers Belcher impulsively enters a boxing match and attracts the attention of trainer Bill Warr (Ray Winstone). Belcher’s rise in boxing is meteoric and he enjoys the benefits of his success not realising fame can be fickle. From his grandfather Jack Slack (Russell Crowe) he learns the basics of the craft and inherits a distinctive ‘belcher’ a blue-and-white spotted neckerchief worn around his neck. Matt Hookings, who writes and takes the title role in Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher might prefer to emulate the former but would probably settle for the latter.Īt the turn of the nineteenth century Jem Belcher (author Matt Hookings) comes from a family of boxers. Rocky, the story of an underdog made good, was a real-life Cinderella event transforming the then-unknown writer/ star Sylvester Stallone into a Hollywood player. Scorsese’s Raging Bull is an artistic triumph turning a brutal (or brutalised) character into a tragic human figure. Russell Crowe rumbles and grumbles and grins his way through the small role of Jem’s mighty grandfather Jack Slack, whose bareknuckle exploits inspire the saucer-eyed lad, and Jodhi May has the deeply thankless role of Jem’s sorrowing mum, disapproving of her son’s boxing destiny with a face like a wet Wednesday.There is a strong relationship between movies and boxing. ![]() But despite the film’s historical interest, it plays like a Carry On film without the gags, and the way it is shot makes it look like a coffee commercial. Hookings’ feature suggests that Belcher was the first star boxer, a pioneer of the modern sport – and speculates he was even one of the first to use gloves. This biopic is clearly a labour of love for its writer-producer-star Matt Hookings, himself the son of a boxing champion, David Pearce, the “Welsh Rocky”. T here’s an interesting story to be told about Jem Belcher, the Bristol bare-knuckle prizefighter and Champion of All England in the early years of the 19th century who became a working-class hero and pop-culture icon mentioned by Dickens and Conan Doyle. ![]()
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