We are what we choose to be or so goes the saying someone said once upon a time and has been repeated countless different ways a billion times since. In the case of Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) though, one seriously begins to wonder what kinds of choices dictate a meteoric rise and then a literal loss of everything precious in his life. Is it simply defending his wife? Getting angry over a fellow boxer challenging his strength and insulting his woman in the process? Would we have done something different than Billy or was he destined for this path of loss and eventual redemption? That seems the simple answer, yes. You strip away the key stone and the rest of the rocks come tumbling down. Why does such an insignificant seeming choice dictate the remainder of your life? It is an impossible question to answer and one that would make anyone want to end their own life were they to contemplate it for too long. Yes, life is about choices-some that we are proud of, others that we will regret and then there are the ones that will haunt us forever. When we meet Billy Hope he is on the top of the world. He is the undefeated lightweight champion of the world at 43-0, he loves his wife Maureen (Rachel McAdams) more than anything and they have a young daughter, Leila (Oona Laurence), who Billy adores. He seems to make more money in one fight than most pro athletes do in a season as he, Maureen and Leila reside in a mansion outside of New York City while his boys (who came up with him through an orphanage in Hell's Kitchen as did Maureen) hang out and collect benefits. His manager, Jordan (50 Cent), seems more than a little sleazy, but his only real point of stress in the opening moments come from fellow boxer Miguel Escobar (Miguel Gomez). After the opening fight in which Billy takes a beating before finding the fuel to light his fire to deliver a knock-out punch, Escobar shows up to taunt the still undefeated champ into fighting him next. Proclaiming Billy's afraid to go against a real fighter, Escobar knows just how to get to Hope. It is in the split second decision to react to Escobar's taunts rather than think it through that Billy makes the choice that will alter his life and his career in unbelievably depressing ways, setting
Southpaw up as little more than a familiar story that is carried by great performances.
