Halle Berry made her directorial debut last month with Bruised. She also stars in this drama about a disgraced MMA fighter who is living in poverty while trying to suppress the urge to return to the ring. When Jackie’s (Halle Berry) mother shows up at her home, with the son Jackie left behind, she adapts to motherhood with some bumps in the road even though she is in no condition to care for a young child.
The young actor who plays Jackie’s son, Danny Boyd Jr., gives an exceptional performance considering he says few words. He also has a great backstory: his father was murdered. This traumatic experience induces muteness which makes bonding with his stranger-like mom difficult.
Halle Berry is a great actress not just for what she does on screen but the performances she provokes in her costars. The relationships with Desi and Buddhakan, played by Adan Canto and Sheila Atim respectfully, were realistic and beautifully told love and toxic love stories.
On the WTF podcast with Marc Maron, Berry talks about the screenplay being originally written for a seventeen year old, White actress. When Blake Lively walked away from the project, Berry worked with screenwriter, Michelle Rosenfarb to adapt the story to a character Halle Berry (55) can play. Berry also gave credit to playwright, Stephen Adly Guirgis for doctoring up the script with his Pulitzer finesse.
This film has a two-hour running time; I doubt you will notice it. The back story is threaded into present day with excellent precision. I give credit to Halle Berry credit as producer, her experience and love for storytelling shaped this into a second coming of age story that is not hindered by predictability.
The film ends on a high note, but not in the typical way. It is an underdog story that leaves you rooting for a woman who doesn’t have it all together in the end but you can foresee her potential comeback.
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