‘The Featherweight’ Review: Robert Kolodny’s Debut Film Is as Agile as Its Irrepressible Protagonist
When the English soccer star Harry Kane finally decided to leave his childhood club Tottenham Hotspur and the Premier League this summer, much of England was up in arms. In doing so, Kane appeared to sacrifice his realistic attempt at breaking the division’s all-time goalscoring record. A couple more seasons, pundits said, would have done the trick. Immortality, and certainly a statue, would have come.
What Kane knows, and what his critics appear not to, is what really motivates elite athletes: not stats, glory. The same lust drives Willie Pep (James Madio), the titular featherweight boxer in Robert Kolodny’s nifty debut feature. Aged 42, Pep plots a comeback, six years after hanging up his gloves. Virtually all those around him, including trainer Bill Gore (Stephen Lang) and business manager Bob Kaplan (Ron Livingston), say this is a terrible idea. That his 220-10 win record, unheard of in the sport before or since,...
What Kane knows, and what his critics appear not to, is what really motivates elite athletes: not stats, glory. The same lust drives Willie Pep (James Madio), the titular featherweight boxer in Robert Kolodny’s nifty debut feature. Aged 42, Pep plots a comeback, six years after hanging up his gloves. Virtually all those around him, including trainer Bill Gore (Stephen Lang) and business manager Bob Kaplan (Ron Livingston), say this is a terrible idea. That his 220-10 win record, unheard of in the sport before or since,...
- 9/3/2023
- by Adam Solomons
- Indiewire
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