Warrior

Gavin O’Connor describes the fights himself: choreography built like dance steps, then taken apart on purpose: the job, in his words, was to unwind it, make it dirty, make it messy. He pushed realism far enough that people sometimes really hit each other. Joel Edgerton describes a two month camp starting at seven each morning: both learned basics and kickboxing, then split, Edgerton to jiu jitsu, Tom Hardy to striking. O’Connor entered the sport through Charles Lewis, who led him to Greg Jackson. The tournament was shot in the University of Pittsburgh’s Petersen Events Center, with Kurt Angle, Nate Marquardt and Rashad Evans among real fighters cast, and real referees and cutmen. The structure is arithmetic: drawn on opposite sides of the bracket, the brothers can only meet in the final, and that is where the film puts them. The father is not redeemed either: Paddy drinks again mid tournament, and the film leaves him watching the brothers make peace. Nick Nolte was nominated for Actor in a Supporting Role; Christopher Plummer won for Beginners. Made for 25 million dollars, it finished at 23.3 million worldwide. A good fit if you can watch seeing the final coming and want the strain in taking sides. Not for anyone wanting cage action clean and legible, since O’Connor breaks the choreography he built.