The familiar boxing movie trajectory doesn’t lessen the forceful punch of this underdog story. Written by and starring Johnny Harris, this is a strikingly accomplished portrait of a booze-sick broken soul hauling himself back up from rock bottom. It’s a feature debut from a director who has clearly made sure he’s at fighting weight: Thomas Napper honed his skills taking charge of second units for Joe Wright.
There’s a level of technical polish here that elevates this lean little story. Sound design bleeds into a satisfyingly textured score by Paul Weller. The exemplary cinematography by Tat Radcliffe favours the kind of intimacy that lets us see the pain seeping through Jimmy McCabe’s (Harris’s) skin along with the vodka sweats. In the ring, the disorienting duck and weave of the camera has us flinching from the flailing punches. Shots of training sessions in Jimmy’s haven, the gym where he learned to fight as a talented youngster, capture the suspicious glances of the men who wrote him off years before. Ray Winstone’s presence – as gruff boxing coach Bill – is just one of the many elements that evokes the grubby urgency of Nil By Mouth.
