Day of the Fight, 2024.
Written and Directed by Jack Huston.
Starring Michael C. Pitt, Nicolette Robinson, Ron Perlman, Joe Pesci, John Magaro, Steve Buscemi, Kat Elizabeth Williams, Anatol Yusef, Phillip Johnson Richardson, Charlize Orr, Ryan Bostedo, Kaili Vernoff, Jordyn Rax, Tim Gallin, Leo Solomon, Eugene Solfanelli, Milan Marsh, Ryan Bostedo, Darlene Dues, Beckett Guest, Zoe Tactuk, and Billy Griffith.
SYNOPSIS:
Follows a once renowned boxer as he takes a redemptive journey through his past and present, on the day of his first fight since he left prison.
“Irish” Mike Flanagan (a bulked-up Michael C. Pitt) hasn’t boxed in years. Once a middleweight champion, alcoholism railroaded his life, causing a fatal car accident that was responsible for the death of a young boy. It’s also important to note that Jack Huston’s (nephew to Angelica Huston and grandson to John Huston) directorial debut, Day of the Fight, is not about redemption: Mike even mentions that although he has relentlessly punished himself while in prison and feels “different” (which doesn’t necessarily mean like a better man) now years removed from the incident, he isn’t seeking that.
At some point near the end of the 1980s, Mike iss granted his first boxing match since that tragic event, set to emanate from Madison Square Garden and broadcast live on television. Complicating matters is that his doctor has also informed him that there are blood clots in his brain left over from the accident and that any further damage could cause an aneurysm. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that doesn’t cause Mike to flinch from going through with the fight, going as far as selling a family heirloom to bring cash to a bookie, betting on himself at overwhelming odds and for a humongous payout.
Knowing that Mike could possibly die in that ring, seemingly intending for the money to go to his estranged wife Jessica (Nicolette Robinson) and teenage daughter Sasha (Kat Elizabeth Williams), wraps the day in the life of a boxer on fight day concept in an oppressive layer of finality. Whether it’s his uncle (Steve Buscemi), trusted trainer Stevie (Ron Perlman), a soul-bearing conversation and lunch with Jessica, a longtime friend turned priest, or a trip to an assisted living center to visit his abusive father with whom he shares a complex love/hate relationship with, there is a creeping, permeating dread that this entire day is the final chance to make amends and one long death march to the boxing ring.
Shame, pain, and resentment all over Michael C. Pitt’s face. He also looks like a man who has genuinely changed and knows that you will never forgive himself for his wrongdoings, let alone expect others to forgive him. He observes and exchanges handwaves with his daughter Sasha from afar, hurting and aware that they will probably never have a meaningful relationship again. This comes after trying to write a letter to her (presumably for when he passes on) but can’t find the words.
Flashbacks of the tragic incident haunt him; he remembers happy times with Jessica, and he still can’t shake a traumatic upbringing from his father that was rife with verbal and physical abuse against his mother. The good times are also filtered with a small amount of color, breaking away from the monochrome present-day visual presentation, as if suggesting such memories are tainted and will never have full color. One could also read the black-and-white aesthetic as a loving homage to Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull (Day of the Fight itself is actually based on Stanley Kubrick’s short film of the same name), but that would also feel reductive and like a refusal to acknowledge that Jack Huston is weaving substance into stylism.
As previously mentioned, Mike’s pre-fight odyssey takes him to visit his now nonverbal father, seemingly stricken with dementia and played by Joe Pesci. The fact that Joe Pesci is even in this movie shows it’s worth anyone’s time; let’s be realistic, he isn’t showing up to just anyone’s film, even if it is essentially one major scene, unless he is closely and personally involved with people behind it, and if there is something meaningful he can contribute. Ron Perlman and Steve Buscemi are always welcome, reliable, and entertaining presences, but a single scene from Joe Pesci at this stage of his career is something remarkable worth showing up for. Without dialogue, he also conveys so much in that heartbreaking one-on-one interaction with his son, somewhere between not being there mentally but as if his mind is slowly being jogged about horrible things he has done and wishes he could take back. Occasionally, a performer gets a Supporting Actor nomination with minimal screen time; Joe Pesci would be a worthy addition to that exclusive group. It’s a short appearance that leaves its mark all over Mike and the greater narrative.
Admittedly, an aura of familiarity hangs over Day of the Fight, which is unquestionably trafficking in cinematic boxing clichés. The fight itself is intensely staged and edited, complete with flurries of punches and an air of suspense from the unpredictability of which direction Jack Huston will take the fight and the film’s subsequent ending. Above all else, every encounter and catch-up here feels sincere and vital to Mike’s life, no matter how big or small.
Entering the ring to Creedence’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” as part of the film’s soundtrack and performed by Jessica on piano at a local establishment, reminding the viewer that Mike’s musically inclined significant other had a deeper relationship with his singer father that he ever had, Day of the Fight consistently claws into these thorny character dynamics. It’s a beautifully bruising film oozing raw honesty and cumulatively builds up its emotional impact like a punch square to the jaw.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
