The Boxer (1997)

Yet another potent (although critically underrated) drama from Jim Sheridan and Daniel Day-Lewis, the Irish director and British star (respectively) of My Left Foot and In the Name of the Father. The story focuses on Danny Flynn (Day-Lewis), a promising boxer who had been imprisoned at age 18 for associating with IRA terrorists. After serving a 14-year sentence, he returns to his Belfast neighborhood at a time when local IRA leader Joe Hamill (Brian Cox) is attempting to negotiate a peace treaty with the British. Despite having no further interest in IRA rivalries, Danny finds himself at the center of political and emotional turmoil when he is reunited with his former girlfriend Maggie (Emily Watson, of Breaking the Waves) who, in Danny's absence, married another IRA man who is now in prison. A strict, unwritten law forbids relationships with the wives of IRA prisoners, but as the former boxer channels his energy into reviving a neighborhood boxing gym, the attraction between Danny and Maggie proves irresistible. This gives a strategic advantage to a militant IRA rival who opposes the peace treaty, drawing Danny back into the bitter and potentially deadly struggle between warring IRA factions. Emphasizing the emotional complexities that arise between Danny and Maggie, this powerful, superbly acted drama demonstrates a sharp understanding of the deep-rooted fears and loyalties that fuel the "troubles" in Ireland, where peace seemed to finally (if tentatively) be achieved in the summer of 1998. Offering a deeper understanding of the Irish conflict, this Universal Collector's Edition DVD includes a full-length audio commentary by director Sheridan and producer Arthur Lappin; an alternate ending and deleted scenes; the original theatrical trailer; and Fighting for Peace: Inside The Boxer, a documentary featurette about the making of the film. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

dvd format

dvd wouldn't work in my dvd player..dvd player screen read..will not play this format,returned to amazon..refund was prompt and without question..i thank amazon for their good customer service..tom May 24, 2008

More Great Work From Daniel Day-Lewis

The Boxer has many elements that could have made this a great film. The acting , the setting in Catholic Belfast during the Troubles, the compelling story of a man trying to find his way back into society after a 14 year prison term all of which make this really compelling viewing.
I would have rated the film higher except for one weakness. The romantic element between Day-Lewis' character and the girl he left behind (Emily Watson)when he was imprisoned while essential to the overall plot at times slows the films momentum significantly. From my perspective this could have been edited a bit and the movie would have been brilliant.
Nevertheless Daniel Day_Lewis once again provides a stunning performance in a role that would be hard to imagine any other actor doing better. May 23, 2008

Good But Should Have Been Better

I'm not quite sure why "The Boxer" isn't better than it is, given its sterling credentials: directed and co-written by Jim Sheridan, and a cast that stars Daniel Day Lewis and Emily Watson, supported by a magnificent group of deservedly well-known character actors. This is one of those odd instances in which a work ends up being less, rather than more, than the sum of its parts.

However, "The Boxer" is most certainly still worth your time at least for one viewing, if only for the performances, my admiration for which is by no means limited to the expectedly fine ones of Day-Lewis as sometime boxer and IRA soldier, Danny Flynn, and Emily Watson as Maggie Hamill, the love of his life. See this also, among others, for the deeply affecting, sad, and powerful, if brief, performance of Scottish actor Ken Stott (perhaps more familiar to American audiences for his work on a grim BBC Crime series "The Vice") as Ike Weir, Danny's boyhood boxing trainer.

The movie takes place in the rough Catholic neighborhoods of Belfast, as Flynn is released from a 15-year prison sentence for involvement with IRA activities. During his prison term, Flynn refused to invite any leniency by revealing anything or anyone else he knew in connection with those activities, which has earned him grudging respect from his former IRA mates. However, they also know that Danny is disillusioned with the Cause and unlikely to return to the fight. He is only alive and left alone, at least at first, because of his silence while in prison.

Flynn's two primary goals after his release are to return to boxing (he is shown keeping himself in shape while in prison), and to see what has become of the girl he left behind, Maggie Hamill. Maggie feels as strongly toward Danny as he does toward her, and wanted to wait for him, but fearing she would waste her life, he released her and she married another IRA soldier and had a son with him, 12-year-old Liam. The marriage proved to be loveless, but, ironically, Maggie's husband is now also in prison, which is bad luck for Danny and Maggie, for there is no sin more grievous in this culture than to take up with a Prisoner's Wife (the film opens with a prison wedding).

Maggie's father, Joe (Brian Cox), is a high-ranking IRA leader trying to negotiate a viable peace settlement with the British. He is hampered in this by the intransigence of one of his District leaders, Harry (Gerard McSorley) who is not interested in peace with concessions, and wants to keep fighting until the British are completely out of Northern Ireland. Harry has lost his young son in "the Troubles" and his heartbroken wife, Agnes, has never really recovered.

Flynn goes back to the old neighborhood gym where he trained in his youth, virtually pulling his old trainer, Ike, out of the gutter as he does so. The two set up a boxing club that welcomes both Catholic and Protestant youth, that is enthusiastically received by the boys it serves. This does not sit well with those like Harry, who don't want peace on these terms. Inevitably, Danny's and Ike's attempt to bring some healing to the community opens up other rifts, violence ensues, and the gym is burned. To Maggie's horror, she finds out that her son Liam participated in the arson, out of loyalty to his jailed father, because he sees his mother becoming close again to Danny and fears she will desert him and flee with Danny.

Maggie's newly revived relationship with Danny is not lost on her father or Danny's former IRA compatriots - even though the two have not actually slept together. Both are threatened with violence, but Danny refuses to leave the neighborhood or give up Maggie, especially after Ike is murdered by Harry. At last, Maggie's father and some of his lieutenants take matters into their own hands and kill Harry just before he "executes" Danny - not as a favor to Danny or Maggie, but because Harry will foment violence if he is not stopped, to undo the peace settlement just negotiated with Britain. The movie ends suddenly here, with even Liam seen as understanding the complexity of his mother's situation, and dropping his anger toward Danny.

The film has affecting moments, but the script is curiously lacking in depth vis-a-vis both the political and personal situations. The tie-up at the end occurs much too quickly and is a bit pat. As noted, the performances are wonderful, the cinematography likewise, and the film has a beautiful score. But somehow, this should have added up to a memorable film, and somehow, it doesn't. April 1, 2008

Action and Drama Work Hand-in-Hand

This film, like many others, shows why Daniel Day-Lewis is a master of his trade. I had no problem suspending disbelief that he was truly a boxer. This was even evident during the opening credits when he was shadow boxing in the prison yard. But this wasn't a movie about boxing; it's a movie about the love between two people that endured a decade and a half apart. I don't know anything about cameras and the types of film used to shoot movies, but the actual look of the film was perfect for a torn up Northern Ireland. It also captures the changing mind-set from extreme to cooperative by those resisting change when they realize that extremism will never lead to a favorable conclusion. So there's a couple different themes, all tied together to make a good movie. On a sidenote - I literally had to buy this movie because I could not find it in a video rental store anywhere ... does anyone know why? January 20, 2008

A classic film that is under-rated yet excellent

This film about the conflict in Northern Ireland between the British and the Irish is extremely well done with a balance between the lives of the characters and the larger structural historic forces that impact their relationships.

Daniel Day Lewis plays the character of Danny Flynn, a 32 year old man who has just spent 14 years in prison for IRA activities. When Danny was 18, and an outstanding promising young boxer, he engaged in IRA activities and took a longer sentence so as to protect his colleagues. He returns from prison, not defeated and soul-dead, but philosophically centered. He finds his old boxing coach, who has become a homeless alcoholic, and together they try to establish a sectarian boxing school that allows both Catholic and Protestant boys the opportunity to learn how to box.

He leaves prison at a time when critical strategic negotiations are occurring between the IRA and the Belfast Police. Prior to his imprisonment Danny was in love with young Maggie Hamill. After his incarceration she married another IRA man, whom she never really loved. This man is currently imprisoned. There is an IRA social norm that no one courts or has affairs with women whose husbands are imprisoned for the IRA cause, thus strengthening the social norms around terrorist activities. A man who thought his wife might leave him for another man while he was imprisoned would be less likely to commit acts of violence against the British. Thus the IRA maintains a strong social network to ensure that fighters remain loyal. Entire housing projects have been modified so that hidden passages between apartments have been created to allow IRA member to enter one apartment and exit another. The leader, Joe Hamill, played by Brian Cox, is under constant surveillance and therefore must live and operate in this maze.

The film's strength is that it perfectly displays the point in an insurrection whereby the insurrection splits between those that are ready to negotiate and end conflict and those that wish to continue the conflict. Joe Hamill has finally reached a point in the negotiation whereby some progress can be made toward peace. The release of Danny Flynn, who has become a neutral partisan after his long incarceration, who at first be an advantage for Joe Hamill. However, the mounting and increased attraction between Danny, and the daughter of Joe, played very well by Emily Watson, violates the IRA norm against courtship of IRA women with imprisoned husbands. This gives the IRA camp that wishes to increase and continue the conflict the very cards they need to play to undermine Joe Hamill.

The film has the viewer moving up and down on emotional roller coasters as you become invested in the relationship between Danny and Emily, in Danny's school for young boxers, in Joe's delicate negotiation process, and in the forces that wish to undermine it all because they are so filled with hatred that they emotionally can never give up the desire for revenge. The ending is tense, surprising, and plausible and I don't want to spoil it for future viewers.

In the end the screen writers, film makers and actors have give us an incredible gift. The tragedy that surrounds the situation in Northern Ireland is made more real through the struggles of the characters. The complexities of the political situations are made more real through the plot and subplots that move the film forward. You will finish the film with mixed emotions with hope that one day Ireland will be at peace and yet with real knowledge that peace is only obtainable through the work of human intervention, a process fraught with failability.
January 13, 2008

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