The Fighter (2010)

AMC, MIDNIGHT ★★★★

 Set in Massachusetts, David O Russell’s cracking biopic of the Irish-american welterweight Micky Ward is more about family than it is about boxing. Mark Wahlberg is solid and unspectacular in the title role; the show is stolen by flamboyant (and Oscar-winning) performances from Christian Bale as his drug-addict brother and coach, Dicky, and Melissa Leo as his toxic mother and manager, Alice.