The Netflix sports drama that did not live up to the expectations.
Jackie Justice (Berry) became a champion in mixed martial arts more than once before leaving the sport with a scandal. Years later, the heroine receives an offer to return and at the same time is forced to become the guardian of her own son, whom she has not seen for many years. Now Jackie will have to return to the ring to secure a future for himself and his child.
The second half of Netflix's calendar year has been lavish with famous actresses on the other side of the camera. Between the dramas of Rebecca Hall ("Identity") and Maggie Gyllenhaal ("Unknown Daughter") Halle Berry's starting attempt as a director is located. Michelle Rosenfarb's "Beats" debut script premiered last year at the Toronto Film Festival before being re-edited due to mixed reactions from critics and viewers. It is not known whether the new version has become much better, but in the end the product obviously suffers from borrowing, breeds platitudes, looks into the genre of fighting dramas in passing, Berry does not add a breakthrough to his career.
The actress focused on her physical transformation. Exhausting training and filming in the dock, injury and hospitalization, fights without stuntmen - Berry seriously thought about her "Million Dollar Baby", a neighbor for a bored "Oscar" on the awards shelf. Holly is still the only African-American winner of the award in history for her role in the foreground, and it would be symbolic if she would repeat her achievement twenty years later. Only the selected material this time turned out to be depressingly toothless and weakly hitting. It is for the likes of Beats that Netflix graciously suggests a 1.5x speed boost.
The most appropriate and fresh comparison for the film would be "Lefty" with Jake Gyllenhaal, where the problem of a child and a boxer father left without care also arose and where, despite all the resemblance to their predecessors (from "The Bull" to "The Wrestler"), it was necessary to keep an have time to reflect. In "Strikes" they care more about external factors, over the script and emotional components without bothering, knocking out to sleep after a working day.
With his forgotten taciturn son Manny at his disposal, Jackie trains in the sweat of his brow at the same time, preparing for the championship match in the UFC tournament. Manny is very upset about the death of his father, with whom he sang Just the Two of Us. The mother and her current lover (and at the same time the manager) have no idea how to raise him, which leads to violent arguments and frequent manifestations of domestic violence. Jackie and Manny move from place to place, believing that everything will definitely work out. The audience is unlikely to reach such a degree of conviction, because each of the joint scenes of the characters will look weak and attracted.
The only caste with the slightest interest and charisma is Sheila Atim, who fantastically played this year in the TV series "Underground Railroad" by Barry Jenkins. Her heroine Buddakan teaches Jackie and subsequently falls in love with her, after which everyone is again let down by the text, spreading weed stereotypes in the corners. Jackie, in response, avoids relationships due to concentration before the upcoming match and mostly unsuccessful romantic experience in the past - before that, in one of the scenes, it turns out that she was repeatedly raped in childhood by her mother's numerous boyfriends. Berry and screenwriter Rosenfarb could have made a disruptive statement out of such a statement, but instead decided to just describe the situation in small details and not return to it again.
Berry's directorial chair is swaying unstably so far. The final scene of the fight came out ascetically effective, but spoiled by editing, another overdue component. It is possible that her next films will emerge from the gray zone less constrained, but during the "Strikes" stage, Berry is still more keen on physical challenges with herself in the lead role. The director, of course, should be flattering for her courage in obtaining funding and perseverance (the film was originally supposed to be directed by Nick Cassavetes, Blake Lively was considered for the main role). But in the end, instead of a worthy rival to "Women's Fight" by Karin Kusama or "Creed" by Michael B. Jordan, it turned out to be an unstuck dummy under the "original". Thanks for the soundtrack from Cardi B and Saweetie.
This post was sponsored by Mohamed Tolba
Comments