cj gayle

I thought this was a well made, well acted film with moments of tremendous tension. I was shocked to find it was based on a true story snd through this quite unbelievable story you find the deep misogyny, sexism and gaslighting a woman has to go through in various forms.

I really enjoyed this. It's a family drama with the wrestling business as a backdrop. Great characters, relatable, likeable characters whose motivations are clear. You even emphasise with the unpleasant characters too, that's how strong the writing is. I'm especially fond of the secondary characters, they have the best dialogue, big hearts and provide the best laughs. A great watch. I just didn't like the music very much.

One of my favourite ever films in no small part due to the performance of Denzel Washington. Something I would say to people about this film is that this isn't simply an autobiographical tale that has been watered down to make Rubin Carter more tenable for mass audiences. His character and this film takes his story as an avatar that shows the audience the systematic oppression and racism many people from that era suffered. So if you find yourself getting angry at how Rubin is treated, that is an appropriate response. Remember that is how a lot of black people were treated.