Initially envisioned as a theatrical re-imagining of Eminem's professional reemergence, the boxing drama Southpaw also works to tell star Jake Gyllenhaal's revival as one of the best actors in Hollywood today. Beefed up and ready to pounce, the first trailer for the film shows Gyllenhaal up for the fight and in full force.
Posted on none other than Eminem's YouTube page, Southpaw and its trailer tells the story of a boxer (Gyllenhaal) whose prime to take over the scene until the tragic death of his wife (Rachel McAdams) causes him to have full custody of his daughter (Oona Laurence). Due to his reckless behavior, however, he loses her too through Child Services, and rather than stay down for the count, the athlete requires the assistance of a veteran coach (Forest Whitaker) to get him back in the ring, in more ways than one.
As one can tell just from that description, Southpaw looks riddled with cliches, and director Antonie Fuqua's (Training Day, The Equalizer) style has never been the most subtle. As such, this appears to be a little more hackneyed than one would hope, but Gyllenhaal, as always, look great. Muscled up right after he skinned down significantly for last year's Nightcrawler, it's a physical transformation likened to Christian Bale, Tom Hardy and Robert De Niro before him, and for good reason. If nothing else, this should once again showcase an actor on top of his game.
Southpaw comes to theaters on July 31, where it goes against Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation and Self/Less, starring Ben Kingsley and Ryan Reynolds.
It appears this is just the beginning of the working relationship Gyllenhaal and Fuqua share. They both are also signed on to make The Man Who Made It Snow, which Gyllenhaal also produces.
That film, however, likely comes after Fuqua finishes up his work on his Magnificent Seven remake, which features his Training Day stars Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke, as well as Chris Pratt and Haley Bennett, the latter of which also worked with Fuqua before on The Equalizer.
Check out the Southpaw trailer below:
Image courtesy of INFphoto.com