We shouldn’t be cheering on Vinny Pazienza (Miles Teller). Common sense and compassion dictates that encouraging the reckless endangerment of a physically crippled boxer is morally corrupt. The personal gain only comes from his near-impossible victory, and nobody wants to be held accountable for the expected result of his damaging, possibly fatal defeat. And yet, I sat and cheered on the Pazmanian Devil as he fought from the ground floor to get back into the ring and fight for one more day. I didn’t cheer because I knew of the uplifting outcome, nor was it simply the mechanics of the underdog story speaking to my soft heart (though I am a sucker for a good underdog story, no matter how rudimentary it is). I cheered because I empathized with Vinny, seeing my own shortcomings and stubbornness in him.
Boxing is the most cinematic of sports because it speaks to the audience on a personal level. Every great boxing film is a human interest piece at heart, the boxing aspect being secondary. Films like “Rocky,” “Creed,” and “The Champ” thrive on the emotions, not the sport itself. We relate to their struggles and fears of inadequacy, their drive for vindication matching our own. Their eternal struggles are made more palatable when shown in the ferocity of traditional battle. We cheer on the violence not out of bloodlust, but out of absolution of the soul. All of life’s hurdles are defeated with each punch, the savagery of the sport mirroring the passionate fight for survival we all go through on a daily basis. It’s visualized better in a literal fight than a metaphysical one.
(Left to right) Ciaran Hinds, Miles Teller and Aaron Eckhart in BLEED FOR THIS.
Photo credit: Seacia Pavao / Distributor: Open Road Films
Vinny Pazienza embodies passionate savagery to a tee. He’s a kind soul, but his cockiness and desire for acceptance overtakes him. His success in the lightweight division clouts his judgment, resulting in a humbling defeat to Roger Mayweather (Peter Quillin). He’s able to rebound and win the Junior Middleweight Championship from Gilbert Dele (Jean Pierre Augustin) thanks to the mentorship of Kevin Rooney (Aaron Eckhart), but that near-fatal car accident that broke his neck is just around the corner to stunt his boxing career.
It is here where the film finds its stride, the languid pacing matching the slow crawl back to championship glory. The human drama comes full circle, as Vinny rejects the concerns from family and friends to pack it in and start a new path. He refuses a spinal fusion in favor of a halo brace, headstrong in the belief that his body will heal in due time. He cares not that one fatal blow could result in the end of his life, as without boxing, he has no life. Again, common sense and compassion dictates we cheer against this, just as his family, friends, and even foes did. But, that selfish drive we all have to accomplish our goals and fulfill our self-worth eclipses our prudence.
(Left to right) Miles Teller and Aaron Eckhart in BLEED FOR THIS.
Photo credit: Seacia Pavao / Distributor: Open Road Films
Ben Younger excels in bringing Paz’s story to screen as he’s wisely focused on the humanity of it. This is a boxing film with very little boxing and only the occasional training montage. Its focus is more on the personal struggles, which Younger builds tremendously to the physical ones. He ensures that Teller portrays Paz as a broken spirit, not a selfish lout. He understands the fears of his family, but can’t accept being treated like a walking corpse who needs constant assistance. His independence is admirable, as insane as that sounds.
Paz’s fight back to the championship is indicative of his emotional growth. He works past his arrogance and desire to prove how tough he is physically, allowing mental strength to win out. He’s inclined to take punches full-force to display his physical endurance, avoiding defense as, to him, it’s a sign of weakness. Having to slowly rebuild his entire frame in turn rebuilds his mental state, showing him that cunning and intelligence is as vital in exhibiting strength as withstanding pain is. He’s still stubborn, refusing sedatives when having his halo removed (in a wince-inducing sequence), but more reserved in his workout routine. The cockiness is still there, but each obstacle mollifies it.
Miles Teller in BLEED FOR THIS
Photo credit: Seacia Pavao
Where Younger succeeds in capturing the emotional drama, he stumbles heavily in capturing the intensity of a boxing match. The matches are framed terribly, quick cuts to the crowd and worried acquaintances masking the shoddily shot fights. Needless close-ups and misplaced camera angles shroud the intimacy of battle, so important in boxing films. This is excusable in the first two fights, as it could be perceived as complementary to Paz’s erratic bravado, but not in the final fight against Roberto Duran (Edwin Rodriguez). That fight needed to be both intimate and grandiose, as the final fight in “Creed” was last year. Instead, it’s a hastily pasted together encounter scraping by with the bare minimum. This diminishes the groundswell impact of both the fight itself and the journey to it. As important as this film is in demonstrating the need for human drama to uphold a boxing film, it also highlights how important choreography is in supporting the humanity. One can’t coast on the notion that the boxing itself is secondary, as both need to come together as a whole in the end. Hopefully, this won’t be too bad a black eye on “Bleed for This” in the long run.
I won’t deny that “Bleed for This” is, at its core, an elementary boxing biopic. It almost has to be, as all great boxing stories follow the same path. Vinny Paz didn’t embark on a cinematic life of twists and turns, but a simple path to championship glory commonplace for most boxers. This is a fact-based account and with that comes the clichés of life. The clichés of the underdog story upend the facts at times to keep things moving, justifiably so. The mixture of the two, combined with the strong performance of Teller and the compassionate direction of Younger, help make Paz’s story engaging on screen, just as it was in real life. Is it as riveting and involving as the real life struggle? Of course not! It is sufficient and respectable, however, enough to make me root for the crazy bastard that is Vinny Pazienza! I mean that in the most complimentary of fashion.
Miles Teller in BLEED FOR THIS.
Photo credit: Seacia Pavao / Distributor: Open Road Films
P.S. There was a missed opportunity to have Édgar Ramírez reprise his role as Roberto Duran from “Hands of Stone” here to act as a peculiar crossover between boxing biopics. At least then, Ramírez would’ve been in a better film.
Final Rating: B