Ex-champion of mixed martial arts fallen from grace, Jackie Justice (Halle Berry) tries a return to the competition. His approach attracts a promoter, who offers him a world championship fight. But her road is full of roughness, especially when Manny, her 6-year-old son placed for adoption, reappears in her life.
With a career spanning more than 30 years, the actress Halle Berry goes, for the first time, behind the camera with this sports drama. Can we speak of a successful passage to the realization for the Oscar-winning actress in 2002 with Monster’s ball ? Yes ! Successful and impactful.
Striking in the sense that one of the beautiful qualities of this feature film lies in all of its fight scenes. It hits. It brews. It is merciless. Blood spurts out. Sweat beads on the forehead. The frames are tight. The scenes of fights, numerous and generous. It’s nervous. Frenzied. Exhausting. Cruel. Brutal.
Fairly agreed in its various narrative elements, Michelle Rosenfarb’s screenplay is nevertheless convincing. For example, we really appreciate this very American East Coast atmosphere of history. Jackie lives in Newark, an anonymous city, gray, filthy, in the suburbs of New York. His championship fight against Lady Killer (Valentina Shevchenko) takes place in Atlantic City, a city as roughed up in recent years as a combat athlete who has spent too much time in the ring.
If all of this vaguely reminds you of Rocky, that’s fair enough. It is difficult to follow the story of Jackie Justice without thinking of the very “close to the people” journey of the Italian Stallion.
Out of the ring, or rather the cage, Jackie faces several challenges at the same time. Reconnect with his son, reconnect with his mother, end a toxic relationship with his spouse. She finds redemption with a trainer, Bobbi Buddhakan Berroa (Sheila Atim), both fierce and a follower of spirituality with whom she will have a romantic relationship.
That’s a lot of things to deal with. In our opinion, these side stories are too numerous. We could undoubtedly have abandoned a few tracks to tighten up the whole. The film also tends to run out of steam a little before the fight.
Moreover, and this is another strength of the film, all the actors are convincing, including the young Danny Boyds Jr. who plays a Manny walled in silence. In the role of the essential trainer and corner man, here the good named Pops, Stephen McKinley Henderson is excellent.
In its genre, Bruised (Murder in French version) does not invent anything. But his approach, very ruthless, makes us come out a little stunned. Funny to say, but it’s a good sign!
In theaters (Dollar cinema in VOA only) and on Netflix.
Sports drama
Bruised
Halle berry
With Halle Berry, Sheila Atim, Stephen McKinley Henderson
2:09 a.m.
Consult the film schedule