Warrior

[MacGuffin]

Trailer here.

Release Date: September 9th, 2011 (wide)

Starring: Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison

Directed by: Gavin O'Connor

Premise: An ex-Marine haunted by a tragic past, Tommy Riordan returns to his hometown of Pittsburgh and enlists his father, a recovered alcoholic and his former coach, to train him for a mixed martial arts tournament awarding the biggest purse in the history of the sport. As Tommy blazes a violent path towards the title prize, his brother, Brendan, a former MMA fighter unable to make ends meet as a public school teacher, returns to the amateur ring to provide for his family. Even though years have passed, recriminations and past betrayals keep Brendan bitterly estranged from both Tommy and his father. But when Brendan's unlikely rise as an underdog sets him on a collision course with Tommy, the two brothers must finally confront the forces that tore them apart, all the while waging the most intense, winner-takes-all battle of their lives.

[pete]

I find it real condescending that in Hollywood movies - with the exception of Black Swan - any sports film or dance film or any genre that delves into any type of specific craft always ends up being about money. Like a dude just can't fight because he loves fighting; he has to fight because he needs money. or save the community dance center. or provide for Someone Dying.

fucking studios have no confidence in the subject they're making the film about.

[polkablues]

There's no dramatic stakes if the protagonist is just fighting because he enjoys fighting. Granted, it's a little lazy to fall back on financial motivations so often, but you would have a dramatically inert story without at least some sort of consequences attached to whether they win or lose.

[pete]

but I listed Black Swan as an example - you can have a very dramatic story based on the craft itself. American documentaries, tv, and reality shows prove this all the time.