classicsoncall Review of Cardboard Boxer

Cardboard Boxer (2016)

"I don't want to have a big sad part of my life anymore."

[7/10 · 13 November 2019]

Fans of Thomas Haden Church will discover a different side to his acting ability in this film in which he portrays a homeless person straddling the fence between rationality and mental illness. It's an effective portrayal that tugs at the emotions throughout the story, as well as arouse your anger with a couple of upper crust elitist kids who get their kicks out of setting up and recording fights between derelicts on the street. The down and out street vibe appears to be handled fairly realistically, as Willie patrols local alleys and garbage dumpsters for food, while hookers ply their trade without interference. Beyond his meager existence, Willie's primary goal is to have and be a friend to someone, perhaps even have someone to love. While Willie does take up the preppy challenge to fight other unfortunates, his heart isn't really in it, at one point contemplating suicidal thoughts when he visits his father's gravesite and sadly remarks "Goodbye Daddy, I'll see you soon". However the movie does require the viewer to make a giant leap of faith at the finale because I don't think the execution of the story quite successfully tied the title character to the little girl burn victim. Presumably she was the writer of the diary, who finds herself in Willie's circle by time and circumstance, and brought by a mentor to see him back on the street. That seemed to run contrary to her upbringing by an abusive uncle, requiring a stretch of the imagination to come full circle. A little bit of a rewrite could have made the connection more effectively.