The Boxer (1997)
81%RT Audience Score: 74%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 6 nominations
The Boxer is a standard drama that packs a true emotional wallop thanks to the highly tuned central performances
The Boxer is a movie that packs a punch, but not quite enough to knock you out. Daniel Day-Lewis and Emily Watson’s performances are a one-two combo that will leave you reeling, but the script could have used a little more spunk. Still, it’s a solid drama that hits you right in the feels. Just don’t forget your mouthguard.
Production Company(ies)
AGBO Hotdog Hands Ley Line Entertainment,
Distributor
Universal Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language and some violence
Year of Release
1998
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DTSS DDSDTS-Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 53m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 19, 1997 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 24, 2004
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Emily Watson, Brian Cox, Ken Stott, Gerard McSorley, Eleanor Methven, directed by Jim Sheridan, written by Jim Sheridan and Terry George, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Bob Thomas, David Stratton, Carrie Rickey, Jay Boyar, Paul Clinton, Richard Corliss, Alistair Lawrence, Rachel Wagner, Serena Donadoni, Tom Hutchinson, Matt Soergel, MPAA rating R, Irish Republican Army, Belfast, boxer, gym, IRA compadres, Harry, Maggie, Joe Hamill, Ike Weir, Patsy, Arthur Lappin, Universal Pictures, SDDS, DTS, Surround, 35mm
Worldwide gross: $16,534,578
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $30,343,282
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,546
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 3,308,973
US/Canada gross: $5,980,578
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $10,975,204
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,590
US/Canada opening weekend: $86,097
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $158,000
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,764
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Emily Watson – Maggie
Brian Cox – Joe Hamill
Ken Stott – Ike Weir
Gerard McSorley – Harry
Eleanor Methven – Patsy
Director(s)
Jim Sheridan
Writer(s)
Jim Sheridan, Terry George
Producer(s)
Arthur Lappin, Jim Sheridan
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 6 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (71) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (57) | Rotten (14)
In each film he makes, Day-Lewis seems to adopt a new persona.
May 14, 2013
Bob Thomas
Associated Press
TOP CRITIC
An intelligent, provocative piece of cinema, with something quite bold to say in the Irish context.
May 14, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
David Stratton
sbs.com.au
TOP CRITIC
Day-Lewis has the ability to make the will to nonviolence look positively volcanic. And Watson, with her 200-watt incandescence, makes longing look radiant.
May 14, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
If The Boxer doesn’t quite score a knockout, that’s because of such flaws as the too-sketchy development of the character of Maggie’s son, who turns out to be pivotal. But the movie carries the day by aiming its strongest punches straight at the heart.
May 14, 2013
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
With Watson and Day-Lewis you can almost feel the heat, and their situation never feels contrived or artificial.
May 14, 2013
Paul Clinton (CNN.com)
CNN.com
TOP CRITIC
The critic dutifully tabulated each blunt plot point, each refried cliche.. And yet, when Danny’s nemesis did something monstrously rotten, the critic was so enraged by the dastardly act that he had to stop himself from spitting his candy.
May 14, 2013
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Despite the limitations of its script, this story about violent men and the cycles of death and destruction that repeat themselves has dialogue that feels grounded in the real world.
January 5, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Alistair Lawrence
Common Sense Media
It is well acted and directed… It’s just the script that could have been a little more memorable.
March 12, 2019 | Rating: B-
Rachel Wagner
rachelsreviews.net
What makes The Boxer as potent as it is are the performances, especially Daniel Day-Lewis’ contained powerhouse. His Danny is a closed-off man, shadowboxing with his private demons, who comes painfully, but gloriously, back to life.
May 14, 2013
Serena Donadoni
Metro Times (Detroit, MI)
A knock-out performance by Daniel Day-Lewis is the highlight of this admirable if rather conventional drama.
May 14, 2013 | Rating: 3/5
Tom Hutchinson
Radio Times
We never figure out, though, what drives Day-Lewis’ Danny. We just take it on faith that he’s stubborn and sick of violence. The filmmakers don’t help much, offering just a twist on the star-crossed lovers story, mixed with standard boxing melodrama.
May 14, 2013 | Rating: 2.5/4
Matt Soergel
Florida Times-Union
The art-house dream-team pairing of Daniel Day-Lewis and Emily Watson amounts to more of a soft jab than a knockout punch.
May 14, 2013 | Rating: B
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News…
Plot
Nineteen-year-old Danny Flynn is imprisoned for his involvement with the I.R.A. in Belfast. He leaves behind his family and his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Maggie Hamill. Fourteen years later, Danny is released from prison and returns to his old working class neighborhood to resume his life as a boxer, fighting and opening a boxing club training aspiring boxers. Maggie has since married Danny’s best friend, who is also imprisoned for his I.R.A. activities. Although he has not denounced the I.R.A. or denigrated his I.R.A. colleagues, Danny has decided to live a life free of political violence. His boxing club is nonsectarian, open to both Catholics and Protestants. This move irks some of his old I.R.A. colleagues since they feel working with the Protestants will not resolve their David versus Goliath struggle. Danny’s old I.R.A. colleagues, especially their unofficial leader Harry, resort to traditional tactics of violence to stop Danny. Maggie’s father, Joe, also an I.R.A. activist, does not condone the violence against Danny as he is working through peaceful means to free I.R.A. prisoners (including Maggie’s husband), but also does not want Maggie to resume her past relationship with Danny, a man who he sees as having no future. Amidst this turmoil, Danny and Maggie dream of a life together, also taking into account Maggie’s wedded status and the feelings of her teen-aged son, Liam. [Originally by: Huggo]
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features a standout performance by Daniel Day-Lewis as the lead character.
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