Director: Sheldon Candis
Writer: Sheldon Candis, Andrew Renzi
Stars: André Holland, Wendell Pierce, Samira Wiley
Synopsis: Following a group of adolescent boxers and their formerly incarcerated coach in Southeast Washington DC on the road to defend their national titles.
Even though They Fight is an underwhelming experience that misses the mark time and again, star André Holland continues to demonstrate why he is one of the industry’s most versatile acting chameleons. One of the rare actors who can carry emotional complexity with restraint and active listening, something Matt Damon once said is all acting is, effortlessly.
Hulu’s They Fight is a subtle showcase for Holland, who plays a recently paroled man attempting to rebuild his life by working with children at a boxing gym. Everything is in his eyes: controlled and stoic, he conveys more with a single glance or extended stare than most actors manage in a three-hour film, delivering a quietly powerful and emotionally layered turn.
That is why it is such a shame that Holland is saddled with a film so heavy-handed and overwrought. The final product is so amateurish that you want to rescue the star, and, for that matter, his character, plucking them both out of this dull streaming entry and placing them in the hands of more seasoned, assured filmmakers who seem to miss the point entirely.
Holland stars as Walt Milligan, who begins working at the boxing gym for Slim (The Wire’s Wendell Pierce), a stern but gentle man who runs the place with a firm but soft hand. There’s an underlying antipathy between the two characters that works well here. Meanwhile, Walt is trying to prove to his ex, Ketta (Detroit’s Samira Wiley), with whom he shares an infant son, that he has changed.
Walt starts his job at Slim’s gym much like that good Will Hunting by cleaning the floors. Before long, however, he becomes a de facto trainer for Peanut (Anthony B. Jenkins of Stranger Things), whom he takes under his wing after learning that the boy has been bullied his entire life. The script brings them together because they are both underdogs in their own stories, and in this one.
Peanut’s best friend, Quincey (The Savant’s Toussaint Francois Battiste), joins him as one of Slim’s most promising prospects. The film really is about Walt’s journey, as he struggles, almost deliberately and frustratingly inert, contemplating whether he should be mentoring at all. Yet, by the second act, much of this fades into the background, forcing a sports narrative that feels like two entirely different experiences.
They Fight was directed by Sheldon Candis (Naomi) and is based on the documentary of the same name. That film was directed by Andrew Renzi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Candis. The final product is remarkably uneven. Candis and Renzi’s adaptation puts too much emphasis on Holland’s redemption arc. This causes the young biographical character and the sense of community to fall outside the script’s margins.
To make matters worse, nearly everything that happens in the film is predictable, following a familiar formula without ever delivering what a genre film like this needs: a rousing, feel-good experience for the viewer. The script also spells out nearly every lesson rather than allowing its themes to emerge naturally, another puzzling and head-scratching creative choice.
That They Fight never manages to develop a convincing emotional bond between its characters, making their relationships feel contrived. Although Holland does everything he can to carry the film, the result is conventional, inconsistent, and overbearing. That is a shame because this story deserves to be told as a stirring comeback drama about personal and professional redemption.
You can stream They Fight exclusively, with a subscription, on Hulu starting July 17th!
