shakercoola
A former youth boxing champion has fallen on hard times. When he hits rock bottom he is drawn to the demon drink but the glimmer of hope inside him smoulders and crackles enough to burn off any excess fat, alcohol and personal redundancy. With his inner London estate that he calls home disappearing around him he turns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: boxing gym owner Ray Winstone, a straight forward good egg and corner man played by Michael Smiley, and sharp and slick promoter, and foil, Ian McShane. Risking his life for a meagre pay day we witness a man fight for a new beginning.
Jawbone is very tightly scripted, well balanced and of good length - perfect for repeat viewing. It's also well acted with very little histrionics. The drawbacks are plot progression - it has a well-worn and familiar boxing narrative and it doesn't have quite enough cinematic scale. That said, it is enjoyable and well observed as a modern day British boxing drama.
Gordon-11
This film tells the story of a former boxing champion, who becomes an alcoholic with no life to live. He turns to underground boxing just to make some money to get by."Jawbone" is really slow in pace. The initial twenty minutes could have easily condensed into just a few scenes by showing him with a bottle of alcohol, having an argument at the council and going into an AA meeting. Instead, the story drifts slowly, meandering its way through with little things happening. It takes fifty minutes for the boxer to get an underground boxing tournament set up. I just could not get into the film, the story or the characters' shoes.
justice_for_allro
Unexpectedly good boxing/addiction movie considering the amount of Hollywood and European movies produced in the last 50 years.It's hard to explore new territories, and not using the usual clichés most boxing films rely on. Jawbone doesn't innovate or bring new concepts here, but the execution is great.Acting is very good, supporting cast does a good job, Johnny Harris is an actor that can communicate without the use overacting, which is rare nowadays.The cinematography is beautiful sometimes, has that independent flick vibe. There are some closeup shots and some details that look great (one takes places at night, in the gym, where you can see the steam of the body heat that rises).Some say it has no point, it does not prove anything ... I'd say otherwise, it's an episode in someone's life, and much like in reality, the end doesn't have to be always very meaningful and reach a climax.It felt like an honest movie, depicting reality, hopelessness without using the motivation clichés that will make some feel good in the end.Highly recommended, for boxing fans and anti mainstream cinema fans.
Theo Robertson
A former boxer with promise returns to his old stomping ground on the mean streets of London hoping for one last chance of success Stop me if you've heard this one before but .... what you stopped me as soon as I came to this page? Fair enough. JAWBONE is a traditional type of gritty drama of a washed out boxer trying to get his life back on track. If you're expecting the big budget feel good Hollywood factor try somewhere else because this is a gloomy British movie Actually this is maybe a little bit too gloomy. It's got that British independent feel. It's well made where the social realism shines through but it's not a film where you walk out of the cinema clicking your heels. On top of that unlike a lot of boxing films you've seen from ROCKY to RAGING BULL director Thomas Napper ensures that if you're hit with a high velocity fist then it will hurt and cut you One minor complaint is that some people be fooled in to watching a film starring Winstone and McShane and there can't be a single movie in Britain who doesn't love these two legends but the reality is their parts are minor with McShane literally appearing in one walk on scene . Instead it's Johnny Harris as boxer Jimmy and Michael Smiley who carry the film. Smiley in particular is very good but the story is one you've seen before
AD
