HEAVYWEIGHT FILM ABOUT FEATHERWEIGHT BOXER
Life inside the boxing ring is hard. And, apparently, life outside the boxing ring is even harder. At least it is for Detroit-based, former featherweight boxer, Bernard “Bang Bang” Rozyski who is the main focus of director Vincent Grashaw’s new sports drama Bang Bang. Though many years past his winning days, Bang Bang or “Bang” for short, still harbors anger and a huge grudge against his last opponent, former champ Darnell Washington. Washington, now a millionaire from fronting a silly product (think the George Foreman Grill), is also a model citizen running for public office. Washington did something possibly underhanded at their fight (what he did is not clear) that allowed him to win — a win that Bang feels ruined his boxing success and hurt his family. So, with Washington again in the public eye and living an enviable life, the profoundly resentful Bang decides to finally get his revenge. But there’s a catch: Bang’s troubled, teenage grandson is dropped on his door by Bang’s estranged daughter. She needs her father to care for his grandson while she temporarily moves away for a better work opportunity. Will the self-focused, former boxer help his troubled grandson? Or will he instead enact his long-festering revenge fantasy? Or will he just fall even deeper into the cycle of anger and depression that has engulfed him for decades?
Grashaw’s gritty character study is clearly influenced by ’70s-era movie making with a standout production design by Ben Miller and ample time given to sit with the film’s central, yet extremely unlikeable, character. However, due to screenwriter Will Janowitz’s indulgent and meandering script, one starts to wonder what is the point? Tim Blake Nelson delivers a visceral, no-holds-barred performance that is brilliant in its commitment to keeping Bang as unsympathetic as written. However, since there’s no real reason for his surliness other than not eventually moving past a crappy turn of life that happens to most of us, it’s difficult to continually watch him be victimized by his own stubbornness. And as the film progresses, his sanity seemingly comes into question. Janowitz also throws in some fairly implausible situations apparently for the sole purpose of showing just what a jerk Bang is. And the troubled grandson, key to the story’s development, does not seem very troubled (though we’re told he is) and appears bullied by his grandfather. There’s a tagged on explanation near the film’s end to suggest the cause of Bang’s problems may go deeper than his ego but it’s a bit too little, too late.
That said, Grashaw does a good job of directing this lengthy material, keeping the movie visually interesting while using minimal sound design to help accentuate the starkness of the situation. He also elicits affecting performances from all involved, including Erica Gimpel’s caring but definitely moved on ex-girlfriend, Nina Arianda’s resentful but still loyal daughter and Kevin Corrigan’s alcoholic best friend. As editor, however, Granshaw needed to be a bit more ruthless, particularly since Bang doesn’t change much over the course of the film. It’s nice to be able to just sit with a detailed character study again but, in the case of Bang Bang, perhaps a little less might have been much more.
Bang Bang
Traverse Media
feature | United States | 103 minutes | English
reviewed at Tribeca Film Festival June 11, 2024
Cast and Creatives at Tribeca Film Festival (Kevin Vavasseur)
Erica Gimpel, Will Janowitz, Vincent Grashaw (Kevin Vavasseur)