Billy Hope: biography of the character, achievements, family

If there is a goal in life, then there will be strength for the struggle. Perhaps, this is the main idea of the dramatic picture of "Lefty", released in 2015 on the screens. In the center of the story, boxer Billy Hope, who knows well the name, which in translation means hope. Billy had a very bad time, and in an instant. The only way to revive from the ashes remains the profession with which he wanted to say goodbye. What to do to the unsuccessful boxer, to whom the heavens seem to be angry? The picture gives the answer.

Canvas

It has already been enough told to the world of stories about how the offended person rises from his knees. Each time these stories are served with a sauce of romance, tears, selfless speeches and impressive soundtracks. In 2015, a film appeared on the screens that made a worthy competition for "The Little One in Million". This is the drama "Lefty" American director Antoine Fukua scripted by Kurt Sutter starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Fores Whitaker. Critics very ambiguously met the film. Yes, the absolute majority admired the game of Jake Gyllenhaal, but the plot and the game of other actors were evaluated negatively. Of course, its role was played by an excess of sentimental prices, an obviously calculated ending and a battered topic. However, the story is still pretty good. Maybe it was not enough fantasy script writers or blurred the actors themselves?

According to the plot

In the center of the narrative is Billy Hope, who even received the nickname Great. He is world light heavyweight boxing champion. This is the pinnacle of sports glory. In addition, Billy Hope has everything you can wish for. He has an impressive career, a lot of money, a beautiful and loving wife, and a charming daughter named Leila. Home is terribly not enough Billy, as he always spends at work. Often Billy Hope's wife asks him to quit the sport. And here it is solved. He announces his retirement at a party. But here the first and most terrible misfortune happens: the spouse dies during a quarrel with another boxer. The world of Hope is falling apart, and the meaning of life is going away. Following him leaves the manager and close friend of Jordan Mines. By the way, his role was played by Curtis Jackson. Billy Hope rolls on an incline, and his behavior leads to a new collapse - the child protection service takes his daughter from him. How does a person get his life back to normal? The only way left is to return to the world of boxing with the help of Tit Tick Wills, an ex-boxer who works as a trainer at the local gym. True, the battle is very difficult for him, but the goal is also great - the return of the confidence of those whom he so loves.

How was the preparation

Initially, the project was supposed to be completely different. When in December 2010, Dream Works launched a sports film, Billy Hope could be with Eminem's face. At the very least, the screenwriter Kurt Sutter, who clearly announced himself with the series "Sons of Anarchy," said that he had met with representatives of Eminem's circle for seven years, and the project itself was conceived, inspired by the personal history of the singer and his struggle in his own life. This picture could be a continuation of the film "The Eighth Mile," but with a metaphorical narrative about the second chapter of the fate for five years duration. "Lefty" could be a white rapper of hip-hop, interested in boxing, dangerous and completely unorthodox. In June 2011, after long negotiations, it became known that the place of the director will take Antoine Fukua. However, in August of the same year the film was abandoned in Dream Works. At the same time, information emerged that the estimated budget of the picture exceeds $ 30 million. The production was taken over by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Columbia Pictures was responsible for the rental. And in 2012, the representatives of Eminem said that the singer suspended work on the picture in order to give all attention to the music. It would seem that this is a collapse ?! But the director signed a contract to shoot with Jake Gyllenhaal. At the same time, the cast was almost completely replaced.

About the main character

Billy Hope is a boxer with a good track record, and embodying his image is quite problematic for the actor. Therefore, Jake Gyllenhaal began intensive training. He daily engaged in the gym and even participated in the sparring in the boxing ring! Adding the complexity and the fact that before this Gyllenhaal was filming in the movie "Stringer", for which he lost 30 pounds with a weight of 180 pounds. The actor looked just haggard. By the beginning of filming, he gained his former weight in just 6 months and even added an additional 15 pounds of clean muscle mass. His form was optimal for a professional boxer. Because of this, he was compared to Rocky Balboa, a character embodied by Sylvester Stallone. Repeatedly, Antoine Fukua said that because of the increased training, Gyllenhaal actually broke up with Alice Miller.

Filming

Biography of Billy Hope embodied in the life of the state of Pennsylvania, calling in Pittsburgh and Indiana, as well as in many states of New York. Then the local artists worked very hard, drawing on graffiti cartons to turn the Pittsburgh roads into the streets of the New York Bronx.

Work on the set was the last for the composer James Horner, who, incidentally, worked on the soundtracks for "Titanic" and "Avatar." Horner died in a car accident in June in California. By the way, the executive producer of the soundtrack was himself Eminem, who wrote two singles for the film.

The world premiere of the picture fell on June 15, 2015.

What critics say

Biography of boxer Billy Hope has received mixed reviews of critics. Gyllenhaal's game was positively noted, but the picture itself was considered exclusively within the limits of one genre. Just this "typicality" and became fatal for the picture. The rules of the genre here are indestructible, but the story is afloat only by an impressive cast of actors. According to critics, the film will attract predominantly male audiences with high testosterone levels. Orientation to a strong half of humanity seems excessive, so that crowds of fans in the shows are not to be expected. In general, the story is rather sluggish, but Jake Gyllenhaal here appeared in an unexpected role for critics. However, too much attention was paid to the template material about the boxer-champion, who is forced to go through harsh tests in the name of a successful outcome. The film was called a heavy-handed parable about retribution, and the director in his work demonstrated his passion for male aggression and violence. Here are presented almost all the familiar clichés, among which are the gray-haired coach, giving the chance for a happy future, the boxer returning to his native streets, the champion who pronounces the speech in a simple language.

Pro boxing

What is interesting Billy Hope? His photo seems to be the union of all the boxers known to us. He is already at an age, he is just over forty. He is no longer very far-sighted. He loves his wife very much, but until the last moment he does not value it. The audience was disappointed with the scene of farewell to their beloved wife. But there is enough boxing in the picture. Already from the very beginning of the undefeated Billy Hope, nine rounds are beaten in the fight for the belt. What helps the hero not to surrender? Of course, a loving view of the wife, after which he cuts down the enemy with a couple of strokes.

The story guides the viewer through Billy's life, but quite predictably returns to the ring where Billy meets with a guy partially implicated in the death of his wife. Behind the battle follows the daughter of the hero, who manages to return. And in the last round, Hope manages to extinguish the opponent with the left jab.

Resume on the film

Many viewers in the finals have a question about who is Billy Hope in life? It's hard to understand in the film. In fact, the film has no clear morals. Hope does not learn to control himself. He puts his daughter in danger. Philosophy in the picture is also not enough, since the coach is broadcasting too obvious things. In general, it is worth watching the movie once, and exclusively for the sake of the main character. Do not wait for too strong impressions, but as a whole a pleasant view!