Bleed for This

Dir: Ben Younger

2016

****

Just when you think the boxing film genre can’t possibly have anything left to give, Ben Younger produces this little gem. Bleed for this tells the unbelievably uplifting story of former world champion boxer Vinny Pazienza and how he, against all odds, climbed back to the top after a tragic set back looked as though it would end his career for good. It doesn’t sound particularly great I have to admit, in fact the description of the film sounds pretty standard within the genre but that’s where Bleed for This is slightly different. It’s an absolutely true story, Vinny Pazienza (now known simply as Vinny Paz) is a real person and in 1991 he was involved in a tragic car accident in which the other driver lost his life. Vinny wasn’t driving, he and his driver were going at a sensible speed, it was the other driver who drove erratically and ploughed into them. Vinny was no angel but this isn’t a story about personal demons or alcohol and substance abuse, as so many such biographical films are. Vinny was a tough boxer, he became the second fighter in boxing history to win both the lightweight and junior middleweight world championships. He was often considered the underdog, even though his record was exemplary. He had issues with making the right weight that lead to dehydration problems, leading him to collapse after fights rather than during them but by and large he was a focused sportsman and a force to be reckoned with. The car crash left him with a broken neck and he was told he would never walk again. Vinny ignored his doctors and stated that he would be back in the ring within a few months. He asked that he be fitted with a medieval looking medical device called the halo. The halo is essentially drilled into the patient’s skull and supported by a huge brace that sits on the patient’s body. It allows the bone to fuse naturally but comes at a great risk of permanent paralysis and even death if the neck was to be jarred hard enough. It’s not advised and I’m pretty sure they’ve since been outlawed but Vinny wanted his neck to be fixed and like it was before the accident, so he took on the risk. After weeks of sitting still Vinny got bored and secretly started training again in the basement of his parents’ home. He was back in the ring again within thirteen months. If it wasn’t a true story, I wouldn’t have believed it. Miles Teller, who himself recovered from a near-fatal car accident, played Vinny with passion and respect and his performance is as good, if not better than his role in 2014’s Whiplash. Aaron Eckhart plays his heavy-drinking coach Kevin Rooney – known as one of the best coaches in the business and the man who trained Tyson. Teller was trained by Darrell Foster, who had trained Sugar Ray Leonard and helped Will Smith with his portrayal as Muhammad Ali for 2001’s Ali. Both actors are utterly convincing as boxer, ex-boxer/boxing coach respectively. Vinny was a known family man and shared a special bond with his mother who never watched any of his fights, choosing to sit in the other room, and his father who acted as his manager and coach for the early part of his career. Katey Sagal and Ciaran Hinds are both unrecognisable as themselves in their performances as Louise and Angelo Pazienza and could both easily walk away with best supporting actor, if the awards gods were to do the right thing for a change. Angelo Pizzo of Rudy and Hoosiers fame was brought in to write the script, with a little help from Pippa Bianco and director Younger who made a few last minute tweaks. While Bleed for This is no Rudy or Hoosiers, I would argue it is far less cliché-heavy (as much as I love those two films). The events might not necessarily happen in the correct order but Bleed for This doesn’t hide or shy away from anything. Vinny is likable but also pretty arrogant at times, you see this in the film, but what comes across most importantly is his determination and stubbornness. It’s a miraculous film about a miraculous achievement, which was largely overlooked upon its release. Ben Youngers direction is good, he doesn’t use any tricks and for be fair, this is a story that should and is told outside of the ring, the scenes whether in or out, are all of a high quality. Paz has been arrested on a variety of charges, including alcohol-related offenses, domestic violence, passing bad checks, and disorderly conduct but the film isn’t about any of that, we get that he’s no saint and he and his story are handled with respect and honesty. If it makes any difference to anyone, the film was co-produced by martin Scorsese, which I think should tell most cinephiles everything they need to know when deciding whether or not to give the film their attention. This film deserves far more love than it has been given, it will appeal to both sports and non-sports fans, the performances are brilliant, the detail is amazing and it’s a rare example of a film portraying the early 90s convincingly. There's life in the genre yet!