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This film boasts a talented cast, telling the true tale of coach Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Yorkshire youth from Yemeni immigrant family. Known as Naseem Hamed, the fighter was coached to confront racist bullies and transformed into a celebrity titleholder in the late 90s. Ingle nurtured his flamboyant confidence and lethal fists, but after achieving wealth, the boxer turned against his coach, cutting him out and turning him into a blend of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Pierce Brosnan plays Ingle; Amir El-Masry takes on the part of Hamed, and Toby Stephens is the assertive promoter Warren, who saw the goldmine that the coach had uncovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

Yet, the film frankly misses the fighter’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences flow well, but the crucial drama in between is repeatedly dull and monotonous. There is no subtlety or contrast in the portrayal of the protagonist himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise outstanding performer, doesn’t get the opportunity to display any subtlety or much of what might make his role really interesting – although he’s clearly been training and appears convincing in the ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is repeatedly lumbered with utilitarian, explanatory dialogue that inform you precisely what is happening and what we are meant to feel (“Your journey began your boxing journey at age seven …”). This is the sort of dialogue that digital producers call “double-screen”, making sure you know what’s unfolding while you’re watching the film but also glancing at your phone. Additionally, the background music is overpowering, sometimes almost overwhelming, particularly in the scene where Hamed gets overexcited visiting the promoter in his palatial residence.

Performances and Key Moments

While El-Masry and Brosnan do their very best, their dynamic doesn’t quite ignites, and the major fight scenes are often anticlimactically truncated. A key scene is certainly when, provoked beyond endurance in the gym one day by the boxer as a delusional “old man”, Ingle in fact offers to step into the ring and fight him. Everyone in the gym is shocked and uneasy. How exactly is this extremely unwise confrontation going to play out? What will be the ending? Surely the Prince is going to kill him? Or will he sentimentally pull his punches? It’s not clear.

Bright Spots and Comedy

This isn’t to imply that there aren’t some good moments. The actor elicits humor when his character tells a journalist what he’s instructing the kids from his local community: to oppose bias and when you meet a offender, “Hit them in the groin”. Amusing too when the boxer squirms at the ridiculous antics the coach makes him do in the early days: acting like the “monster from the East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the rift, the film depicts this as being exacerbated by a tell-all publication that Ingle is supposed to have authored (a story element clearly adapted from another source), and there is an intriguingly conceived last discussion – however the emotional tribute that Hamed is supposed to have paid to Ingle after his passing is only mentioned in the closing credits, and not shown on film. Some interesting material in this film, but the punches fail to connect.

The film was shown at the festival and is in UK and Irish theaters from 9 January.