The most daunting challenge that writer/director Ben Younger faced when adapting the story of champion boxer Vinny Pazienza (now Vinny Paz) for the screen was making its events even more believable. After suffering a crippling injury in a 1991 car accident that nearly claimed his life, Paz was forced to wear a halo, a device that stabilizes the cervical spine, and is most commonly installed after neck injuries. His subsequent recovery and return to competitive boxing in 13 months is the subject of Bleed for This, starring Miles Teller, Aaron Eckhart, Katey Sagal and Ciaran Hinds.
Shot on a meager budget of $16 million, Bleed for This attempts to tell a boxing story on a much more personal and familial scale to differentiate it from the onslaught of boxing films we’ve seen over the past few years. What we end up with is a well acted, impressively made story that never quite hits the emotional peak it so desperately aspires to. However, these performances really are quite good. Teller not only makes an impressive physical transformation, but a courageously emotional one to boot. Whiplash proved he could muster the right amount of intensity, but since he was cast as Paz before Whiplash was ever released, he proves to be a particularly inspired choice.
Similarly, Aaron Eckhart is damn near unrecognizable as Paz’s trainer Kevin Rooney. He’s a balding, North-Eastern accented alcoholic, which is about as far from his previous roles as imaginable. Katey Sagal and Ciaran Hinds also put on remarkable disappearing act as Paz’s parents, but it’s a shame that the script doesn’t give them more to do. In fact, the same can be said of all the characters. We see them act genuinely around each other, but the script never quite breaks their outer shell that would allow us to see them as more three-dimensional characters. It’s a disappointing case of style over substance.
Speaking of style, the cinematography is another distinct highlight. Each location has the proper amount of grit and blue-collar charm to it, and the visual identity of the film dovetails nicely with its period setting. Younger elects to shoot his film with a handheld, lived-in look which adds a palpable degree of authenticity to the proceedings, making the most of its Rhode Island setting. While every scene is impressively shot, the film’s finest moment is the actual crash itself. Younger executes it with a fantastic degree of restraint, making the moment all the more powerful in the process. But the same thing can’t be said for the boxing scenes.
The fights are well-staged, but the small budget doesn’t do the film any favors. Although Bleed for This admirably strives for realism with its boxing, we’ve simply seen more impactful and exciting boxing scenes in recent films like Creed and The Fighter. Even so, it’s worth noting that this is the only part of the film that is obviously hampered by its punishing 24-day production and limiting $16 million budget.
Overall, Bleed for This is a well acted and produced film that is sadly hindered by a script that fails to elevate the drama up to the extraordinary story it’s dramatizing. It struggles to keep the narrative pace following the accident, but the strength of its performances and cinematography keep it afloat. Bleed for This won’t set the Oscars on fire, but is still engaging enough to hold your attention.
3-5 boxing gloves
