As far as palooka pictures go, “Day of the Fight” is familiar but effective.
As the title implies, the film follows Brooklyn boxer “Irish” Mike Flannigan (Michael Pitt) for a day before his first big fight in a decade. While he’s still a beloved figure in his community, Flannigan has had some rough years. A tragic auto accident not only landed him in jail but left him with a brain aneurysm that could end his life if he ever decides to box again.
So, of course, he spends his presumably last day on Earth checking in on friends and loved ones, all of whom seem unaware of his injury. He gets some last-minute sparring with his longtime trainer (a hilariously profane Ron Perlman). He gets honest with his childhood friend-turned-priest (John Magaro). He makes amends with his ex-wife (Nicolette Robinson). And he makes peace with his abusive father (a sad, silent Joe Pesci), who is now suffering from Alzheimer’s in a nursing home.
“Fight” marks the directorial debut of actor Jack Huston, the latest member of the Huston dynasty to follow in his grandfather John’s footsteps. It almost seems like a valentine to his grandpa, who not only directed the acclaimed 1972 pugilist pic “Fat City,” but was also an amateur boxer in his younger years.
But the late Huston isn’t the only filmmaker his grandson is giving props to. Between the black-and-white filmmaking and the appearance from Pesci (who also serves as executive producer), Huston clearly wants it known he’s a big fan of Martin Scorsese’s “Raging Bull.” (Huston and cinematographer Peter Simonite do create some crisp, damn-near-photojournalistic visuals.) But Flannigan isn’t an intense, disturbed hothead like Robert De Niro’s Jake La Motta. If anything, he’s more reminiscent of Eminem’s working-class, lone-wolf rapper B-Rabbit from “8 Mile,” right down to the beanie on his head.
“Fight” does seem like a compendium of nods to other boxing flicks – even Pitt resembles Jon Voight’s prize fighter in “The Champ.” But the plot is also reminiscent of Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester by the Sea,” with Pitt’s tortured character still unable to shake the pain and suffering he caused with his life-altering accident.
Derivative plotting aside, “Fight” pulls you in with its solemn pacing and sincere performances. As the movie goes on, it’s apparent that Huston, ever the thespian, is focused more on getting intimate, vulnerable moments between his performers. After all, the whole movie is Pitt going one-on-one with a bevy of actors before he steps into the ring.
Although he’s now in his wrinkled, fortysomething era, Pitt still exhibits a youthful, unassuming cool. He plays Flannigan as a gentle, reformed soul still atoning for all his previous sins, ready to figuratively and literally knock some sense into anyone who needs guidance, whether it’s an obnoxious bully in a boxing gym or a wayward teen he sparks up a conversation with on the street.
After a few dark years in the public eye, “Day of the Fight” could be read as a redemptive journey for Pitt and his character. As his protagonist spends a day making things right with people before he makes his last hurrah, Pitt shows that whatever trouble he’s had in the past hasn’t thrown his acting game off. Just as Flannigan gives it his all, on the off-chance he may never have this opportunity again, so does Pitt. And that’s what makes “Day of the Fight” a sight to see.
