The film opens with the boxer – unnamed, so let's call him “Clint” – throwing a fight that could have brought him recognition and success. Ten years later, he’s working at a small gym for his girlfriend "Caitlin" (Caitriona Balfe) and enduring abuse from local toughs. Suddenly, he receives a call from matchmaker “Donny” (Gary Beadle), offering him a chance to fight for a title. She is hesitant but acknowledges that he needs to confront some lingering issues, so they head to Vegas for the weigh-in. I can at least blame the cheesecake, but there’s no excuse for his being roughly 20kg overweight; he'll have to endure an incredibly difficult training regimen just to make it into the ring! That’s essentially what this film is about, and Bloom certainly commits to his role. He genuinely sweats and bleeds as he struggles to lose weight. It quickly becomes apparent that even that isn’t enough, so Donny brings in “Boz” (John Turturro), who introduces a new system and some tempting shortcuts that might cross the line. As "Clint" grows more exhausted and isolated from "Caitlin," he drifts through life, during which we learn about his past with his single mother (Clare Dunne), who earned a living through an unconventional form of entertainment for troops in Northern Ireland. With these painful memories surfacing alongside the physical strain on his body, is there any possibility he can meet the weight requirement to fight? Even if he does, what condition will he be in? This represents a significant departure from Bloom’s previous work, and his dedication feels genuine throughout. Unfortunately, the story doesn't really deepen. The characters are disappointingly underdeveloped, and while some moments are powerfully uncomfortable to watch, it all feels somewhat superficial. Turturro brought to mind JK Simmons in “Whiplash” (2014), but here, his mentoring role is undermined by the unexplained appearance of "Lupe" (Mohammed Mansaray), whose presence almost seems like a creation of the boxer’s increasingly unstable mental state. As a performance from a leading actor, this will be hard to surpass during awards season, but as a story it's seriously lacking in substance.

Source on TMDB