I want to make this very clear: Vinny Paz (a.k.a. Vinny Pazienza) (Miles Teller) did not go straight from losing a halo to fighting Roberto Durán. It struck me as insane in the film, and, truth is, that is insane. No man on this planet, professional boxer or no, would decide that his first fight after a year of wearing a brace specifically designed to protect a broken neck would be with a man unironically nicknamed “Hands of Stone.”
I looked it up. I looked it up because I was bothered by the “AL Wild Card” reference — Wild Card baseball was six or seven years away when the movie began and not much closer when the car crash left Vinny in need of neck brace. Bleed for This shamelessly played with timelines, often assuming we’d take for granted the biography was, indeed, authentic. The funny part is how Bleed for This was very documented, date-wise, in the first half of the film, but stopped being so dogmatic about specific dates in the second. Huh. I wonder why.
Vinny Paz is a guy who didn’t seem to have much going on for him besides the boxing. It seems he wasn’t terrific at gambling, loving or thinking. His bull-headed approach to every fight suggests that strategy was like some profound revelation. The movie suggests it took the first non-family trainer/manager, Kevin Rooney (Aaron Eckhart), to enlighten Paz to the joys of preparing properly for a fight. Speaking of which, this might just be the best acting I’ve seen out of Teller, Eckhart or Ciarán Hinds (as Paz, Sr.). All three get so lost in their characters, it is impossible not to respect their craft as artisans.
Boy, I wish that were enough.
I guess I’m just not terribly sure I respected Vinny Pazienza, the man. There’s no denying he was a wonderful boxer. OTOH, he goes through life with neither direction nor completion, not unlike his awful Larry Bird-like moustache. When Vinny’s neck is broken, he insists he will box again. He’s not wrong, but is that really a good thing? This is determination and willpower in the face of absolute stupidity. And why? “Because I don’t have anything else in my life.” Again, he’s not wrong. Maybe he should be.
I never knew what a halo was despite seeing one in films like Mean Girls and The Waterdance (Lucky me). They actually screw that metal ring into your skull to keep your neck aligned. I’m thinkin’ that if you need to wear a piece of metal that has been screwed into your skull for a period of months just for the sake of your own health, you should really consider a profession other than boxing. Maybe it’s just me.
How is Rocky not mentioned in this film? Italian boxer in the northeast during the 80s and 90s? A bullish slugger in
the ring and one who had to overcome long odds at that? The real Vinny Paz had to idolize the fictional Rocky Balboa, no? Or at least mention him if only to dismiss the comparison. These are details which should have made for a better film.
Miles Teller has quickly become “that determined guy.” This is a huge improvement over the douchebag role he’d acquired in his teen career. For Teller, this is a tour de force with respect to plying his trade. In every other film I’ve seen him, including Whiplash, I could still pick out the Miles Teller who belonged in an immature teen comedy. While this is not an award winning role by any stretch, Miles Teller is now a different actor and one perhaps worth watching.
In the mean time, didn’t we just have a Roberto Durán movie? Bleed for This and Hands of Stone need to lock gloves center ring and battle in out for 2016. Winner gets to roll out these exhausted boxing metaphors again.
♪Risin’ up, after my bath
Wait til I remove these braces
Swear y’all are going to check out my wrath
When I lose what’s keeping me alive
So many times I get out too fast
Bang my frame on the car door
Hurts like Hell, then I wait til it’s passed
And I hang out in some seedy dive
It’s the lie of the fighter
Pretending I’ll be all right
Rising up to the challenge of track lighting
Down to one known supporter
Keeping me in his sight
And he’s backing my every lie of the fighter♫
Rated R, 116 Minutes
D: Ben Younger
W: Ben Younger
Genre: The insanity of boxing
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Rocky Balboa
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Roberto Durán
♪ Parody inspired by “Eye of the Tiger”
