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GIRLFIGHT Send This Review to a Friend
This original and involving film, among the exceptionally good entries in the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival, marks an impressive feature debut for writer-director Karyn Kusama, as well as a stunning acting debut for Michelle Rodriguez. As Diana Guzman, Rodriguez sullenly reflects the seething anger in a teenager with a troubled Brooklyn home life erupting in hostile behavior in high school, where she is a senior who runs into problems by getting into fights and exhibits all the signs of a drop out.
Her salvation comes with the discovery of boxing in a local gym. She sees boxing as something to make her own without any intellectual understanding of how the sport releases her aggression. For the first time, she feels like somebody as a result of her new-found prowess in the ring.
For the most part Kusama directs with an emphasis on gritty physicality and super-cool attitude. But the script indulges in the corny idea of Guzman having to duke it out in the ring with her boxer boyfriend, well-played by Santiago Douglas. Another strong performance is given by Jaime Tirelli as Guzman's savvy boxing coach. Script flaws aside, "Girlfight" comes across as an expressive look at the rescue of a young woman headed for trouble but finding a place in the world by using her fists to give her a sense of who she is and who she can become. A Screen Gems release.
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