Jem Belcher: From Family Legacy to Boxing Ring
Jem Belcher (Matt Hookings) grew up in a typical 19th-century British family, captivated from childhood by his grandfather, the bare-knuckle fighter Jack Slack (Russell Crowe). However, the young man’s mother did not support this fascination and tried to shield her son from the brutal world of combat sports. As an adult, Jem decides to pursue his destiny in the fighting ring, and under the guidance of trainer Bill (Ray Winstone), he begins his ascent in a sport that is not yet known as boxing.
“Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher” is, in some ways, the perfect film for the current Russian distribution landscape. The project’s troubled history mirrors the challenges facing the industry, and only such a difficult film could break through all the closed borders. “Prizefighter” (which, of course, has a different original title) finished filming back in 2021, and since then, the film has been stuck in a strange post-production limbo. The companies and funds that invested in it demanded their money back. The crew waited months for promised payments. The screenwriter and lead actor, Matt Hookings, took it upon himself to re-edit the entire film because he disliked director Daniel Graham’s version. Eventually, Amazon bought the film, but it was released in Russia even before its international debut, with a changed title that alludes to the successful drama “The Fighter.”
Rocky Inspiration
However, this film has little in common with David O. Russell’s picture. If “Prizefighter” is to be compared to anything, it’s “Rocky,” but not so much in terms of plot as in terms of production. Matt Hookings, a mid-level actor, wrote the script himself, produced the film, and managed to play the lead role in a biopic about a real historical figure who became one of the first boxing stars. It seems that he was trying (even if unconsciously) to replicate the success story of Sylvester Stallone, who rose from rags to riches thanks to his own perseverance and a hard-won film about an underdog fighter. But it’s unlikely to happen. Despite his relatively limited acting range, Stallone proved to be a surprisingly talented author of hard-hitting genre stories. Hookings, while not lacking in artistic talent, is completely helpless as a writer, at least judging by his “Prizefighter.”
A Formulaic Approach
We often hear the cliché about historical films that they are “based on Wikipedia.” Well, “Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher” is not even based on a Wikipedia article. It’s based on a short summary of the article, on its headings. The film moves from scene to scene on its own, without resistance, events simply happen because they have to. Instead of reflection, there are rare conversations with mentor figures (grandfather, mother, trainer), where everyone speaks exclusively in tired phrases from genre textbooks. “Prizefighter” is a bare formula without substance: the looming ghosts of the past, the ups and downs, and the final story of overcoming oneself (the hero goes blind in one eye but still continues to fight) are all present. But there is no sense that the plot episodes are justified by anything other than the fact that they are simply required to be in a film of this genre. Characters appear and disappear at the wave of the screenwriter’s pen. The colorful story of the real Belcher turns into a sequence of truisms, loosely connected episodes from his life, filmed in the same annoying “sepia.” Because how else to create a historical setting, except by making the whole image brown?