Knock out

Fighting for respect in a man's world.

A BLACK EYE on a woman is never a good sign—victim, we think. But on Michelle Rodriguez, who plays Girlfight‘s Hispanic teen delinquent-turned-champion boxer, a shiner not only looks good, it’s proof that her adversary in the ring— a guy—actually had to fight back, and hard. It doesn’t matter that she lost the bout; earning respect as a female contender in the macho arena of boxing is the real battle. When first inquiring about boxing lessons, Diana is told, “Girls don’t have the power. Try aerobics.”


GIRLFIGHT

written and directed by Karyn Kusama starring Michelle Rodriguez, Jaime Tirelli, and Santiago Douglas opens September 29 at Neptune


The title of Karyn Kusama’s remarkable Sundance award-winning debut is a bit misleading. There’s only one struggle between girls in this film, and it comes early, as Diana punches out a catty female student in defense of her chubby best friend. The rest of Kusama’s potent script involves Diana fighting the opponents in her own life: an abusive father, her memories of him driving her mother to the grave, and her own indolence and apathy about her future.

When we first see her, Diana seems a stereotypical product of the ghetto; she cuts classes and curses out teachers. A tangle of frustrated energy, her body strikes at the first opportunity, and her mind expresses itself in clumsy expletives.

Boxing saves her, turning the aimless rebel into an assured athlete. With physical transformation comes personal growth, and Diana becomes more articulate— eloquent, even, in a pithy manner—as her muscles become more defined. Before her biggest match, Diana’s coach (an excellent Jaime Tirelli) asks, “Do you know yourself?” “Yeah, I do,” she answers, her lips curved around her mouthpiece. It’s a nice moment in a winning if formulaic story; Kusama keeps it fresh enough to avoid going into Rocky territory.

In her first acting role, Rodriguez initially seems a wild card, but she projects a powerful screen presence. Drab tomboy clothing only shifts our attention to the attractive star’s sculpted limbs, smooth olive skin, large eyes, and long, dark hair twisted into cornrows. (When she gets into boxing shorts and a tank top, she’s a total knockout.) Yes, Girlfight does involve an obligatory romance with a handsome young man (Santiago Douglas), but it wouldn’t be a true chick flick if it didn’t. Sometimes a little feel-good uplift isn’t a bad thing, and you end up rooting for Diana despite the movie’s predictability.

IN SEATTLE FOR SIFF’s screening of Girlfight, 32-year-old Kusama explained how she first became interested in boxing in her early 20s. Practicing in a Brooklyn gym, she observed many young people for whom the sport represented a way out of the ghettos. “A lot of these kids in these gyms . . . come from very, very challenging environments,” she notes. “They really do look to the discipline of the sport, the sort of alternate family that’s provided [in the gym]. They really look to it for sanctuary.”

Accordingly, Kusama’s recreation of a Brooklyn gym has the welcoming authenticity of a no-frills facility in a low-rent neighborhood. A broom closet doubles as Diana’s locker room. Walls are covered with motivational messages scrawled on pieces of butcher paper: “Champions are made, not born,” and “Winners never quit; quitters never win.” Naturally, for color, a few wrinkled old-timers are on hand to express their outrage at the idea of gender-blind competition. The only flaws in the low-budget Girlfight are technical, with boom mics occasionally intruding from the top of the frame. Otherwise, it’s a sharp, believable work, with Diana emerging as a poignant heroine, a girl who makes other girls—and boys—stand up and cheer.


For a full transcript of our interview with Karyn Kusama, read In this corner.