Jim Sheridan and Daniel Day Lewis have teamed together in the the past creating exceptional films such as "In The Name of Father" and "My Left Foot", but, "The Boxer" unfortunately will not be added to that list. Though a decent movie and well worth watching, it just doesn't captivate like I'd hoped for. Daniel Day Lewis succeeds in portraying Danny Flynn, a former prestiged boxer and IRA member recently released from prison after a 14 year sentence. Upon his release his politics have changed and he seeks peace through training kids boxing at a local gym, much to the dismay of his former IRA "friends". Emily Watson plays his long lost and bitter lover, en-raged with him for leaving her. Both do fine jobs of acting but it feels like the chemistry just isn't there, plus, their history is never quite explained and leaves you frustrated at times. My real problem with the film is that Danny Flynn's character never truly develops, and all you really find out in this film is that he was a boxer, associated with the IRA and loves Emily Watson. It briefly tells that he was imprisoned for his involvement with the IRA, but never specifies. It's obvious Sheridan wanted to touch upon the theme of Prostestant and Catholics struggle in Northern Ireland to live with each other in harmony, but personally I feel he failed at doing so.
Review of The Boxer
