Girlfight
****
Cinema Releases - April 20, 2001
Rated on a 4-star scale. Certificate 15. 110
minutes. Written and directed by Karyn Kusama. Starring Michelle Rodriguez,
Santiago Douglas, Jaime Tirelli, Paul Caleron, Ray Santiago, Elisa
Bocanegro.
After seeing "Girlfight" for the
first time, I had to snap myself back to reality and let the realisation
sink in that the main character was not real. I was not just convinced or
engrossed by her -- I felt like I'd fallen in love with her. Reactions like
this are not common.
Diana Guzman is played by Michelle Rodriguez,
an actress of savage beauty and absolute naturalism whose performance helps
"Girlfight" transcend expectations and become great drama. I did not think
the movie had the potential to be a masterpiece -- it's the tale of a kid
from the projects rising above her surroundings by training in combat sports,
which was done in "Rocky" and "The Karate Kid", and done to death by all
their lousy imitators. No matter how well you do such a story now, surely
it'll seem somewhat clichéd?
But "Girlfight" feels fresh, in large part because
of how well Rodriguez draws us in. She plays Diana as a tough kid with a
penetrating glare, but not phoney, put-on toughness -- she doesn't make threats
she can't back up, and is also able to give us a beautiful, genuine smile.
When she snaps smart-ass comebacks at people, they're simple ("You shouldn't
hit people like that." "I couldn't resist.") and their delivery seems
spontaneous. We get the feeling of a real person here; a more obvious actress
working from a lesser screenplay would have created the impression of some
chick with a one-dimensionally aggressive attitude and a string of one-liners
up her sleeve.
The trick of Karyn Kusama, the writer and director,
is to treat this like a character study. We don't feel like we're watching
familiar territory, expertly done; but more like an original story, from
the street, waiting to be told with savvy and intelligence. "Rocky" felt
like that at the time, and remains moving today, but has been so thoroughly
copied that we can easily spot the formula. "Girlfight" is so subtle that
we only realise how much Kusama has included after the film is over. There
are no big bonding scenes between Diana and her trainer, and no big speeches
about Diana's past -- and yet we begin to notice a great friendship emerging
between the girl and her mentor, and gradually suss out what a hard home
life she has had. There is a romance, but no big date scenes, just a thing
that kinda, sorta develops. Information is imparted to us invisibly, in tiny
clues, as in life, and yet somehow the film moves along with strong cinematic
rhythm.
The photography also walks the line between studio
polish and documentary realism, and the pounding Spanish rhythms on the
soundtrack create a different feel to the standard orchestral scores of ordinary
boxing movies while maintaining the same level of emotion.
The kiss scene in this movie is a perfect example
of its magic. On the page, it probably seemed more or less like any other,
but onscreen it feels tender and awkward, and is one of the most quietly
brilliant moments of understated sensuality I have ever seen at the movies.
"Girlfight" is one of the best films of the year.
COPYRIGHT©
2001 Ian Waldron-Mantgani
2001 Reviews
(alphabetical)
2001 Reviews (by star
rating)
Archive of all cinema reviews
(alphabetical)
Review Archive
Index
UK
Critic main page
|
![[Image]](http://www.ukcritic.com/posbanr2.gif)