WHO’S IN IT?
Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler), Rachel McAdams (The Notebook), Naomie Harris (Skyfall), Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), Victor Ortiz (The Expendables 3), Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (Get Rich or Die Tryin’), Tyrese Gibson (Fast & Furious 7), Miguel Gómez (The Strain), Oona Laurence (I Smile Back), Beau Knapp (Super 8), Rita Ora (Fifty Shades of Grey), Clare Foley (Win Win)
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
Antoine Fuqua (Training Day), director, producer; Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy), writer; Todd Black (The Pursuit of Happyness), Jason Blumenthal (Seven Pounds), Alan Riche (Starsky and Hutch), Peter Riche (Tomcats) and Steve Tisch (Forrest Gump), producers; James Horner (Avatar), composer; Mauro Fiore (The Equalizer), cinematographer; John Refoua (Olympus Has Fallen), editor
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Billy Hope (Gyllenhaal) is a boxer at the top of his game, living a good lifestyle with his wife Maureen (McAdams) and daughter Leila (Laurence), but despite his strong career he is persuaded to retire in order to spend time with his family. However, after a tragic incident leads to Leila being taken away by the authorities, Billy’s only hope to win back his family is to return to the ring with his trainer Titus “Tick” Wills (Whitaker) in tow for a tough, all-consuming fight…
IN ONE SENTENCE, WHY SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED?
Jake Gyllenhaal’s physical transformation into the beefy boxer he plays here is extraordinary – keep in mind, prior to filming this he had slimmed down substantially for Nightcrawler – but Southpaw is also a harrowing and effective tale of overcoming the odds and risking it all for the ones you love.
