AFI Fest 2021: Bruised Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s AFI Fest, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

You are a champion at what you do, but one bad day and you are out. You get back to the game, but your life comes behind you, bogging you down. In the end, it is all about punching your way to a comeback glory. That’s life if you ask this reviewer.

Incidentally, that’s also the plot of Halle Berry’s Bruised. The film is a sports drama that focuses on the personal and professional journeys of a washed-up Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) player, Jackie Justice (Berry). It is as much about her personal troubles as her career, if not more. In her directorial debut, Berry gives it her all, both in front and behind the camera. While her performance here might not approach some of her best performances, she makes Justice believable and, more importantly, relatable. The film banks on viewers finding it relatable, especially those who work in high-pressurized competitive domains like sports, entertainment, etc.

Bruised fizzles in terms of writing. While it does a good job presenting the many perils of a simultaneous personal and professional breakdown, it cannot break out of the shackles of conventionality within the genre and feels like a wasted opportunity to address some larger for which it barely scratches the surface. While Justice has significant obstacles to overcome, they do not translate into anything out of the ordinary. Meanwhile, the shaky-cam cinematography depicts the chaotic and realistic nature of Justice’s life as she strives hard to keep it all together. Songs by Cardi B, H.E.R., Saweetie, and many others, coupled with Terence Blanchard’s score, keeps viewers company as they witness the making of a warrior. There are few MMA fights for an MMA film, but the final battle makes up for it.

Making a sports drama is always tricky as filmmakers need to tackle the dichotomy of the genre, and the genre itself has experienced waves of wax and wane. Bruised fails to leave a significant mark neither on the genre nor the viewers. It definitely could have been something more. For fans of Halle Berry, it is undoubtedly worth watching, especially since she enters into other creative frontiers. Otherwise, those who are not die-hard fans of the genre, can probably let it slide.

still courtesy of Netflix

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