Chuck (A.K.A The Bleeder) (2016) – Review.
In the early 1970s Chuck Wepner was a heavyweight club fighter with an average record. He wasn’t a stylish boxer and the skin around his eyes cut easily but he did have two things in his favour, he could take a punch and he had heart. After being given local exposure when taking on an opponent of a similar standard he was behind on the score cards and during the fight sustained a badly cut eye. Wepner was thought to be on his way to losing the fight and in between rounds was advised by the referee that the fight would likely be stopped in the next round due to the severity of the cut. Chuck proved that referee to be wrong as he went out and won by knockout in the very next round. Unbelievably, this win gave Wepner a world ranking which meant that he was allowed to enter and contest the heavyweight championship of the world, although no one actually believed that this would ever happen.
In 1974 Muhammad Ali survived a brutal contest to defeat the, then unbeaten, George Foreman in Zaire, Africa and reclaim the heavyweight title of the world in a what was at the time, a massive shock. The Rumble in the Jungle will always be regarded as one of the greatest world title fights of all time. As a result, promoter Don King decided to cash in by getting Ali a straight forward, easy first defence of his title. Chuck was going get his shot at a place in the record books after all.
In a fight that many expected to be concluded inside of three rounds, Weppner shocked the “experts” at ringside by lasting all the way into the 15th and and final round. Not only did he show that he could withstand a brutal beating from the champ, he also holds a recorded knockdown of Ali. After the fight, with both eyes swollen shut, he fell into the arms of his wife.
If you think this all seems a little familiar then you’re right as watching all this drama unfold was a struggling, young actor by the name of Sylvester Stallone. The result of this lead not only to Stallone writing the script of a certain boxing film, but a franchise that is still going to this day with the planned sequel to Creed in the pre-production stage. It’s widely acknowledged that Wepner is the inspiration for the iconic character of Rocky Balboa but how much of him is known beyond that fact?
Liev Schreiber stars as Wepner in the 2016 biopic simply titled “Chuck” (also titled “The Bleeder”). Schreiber has a love for boxing and as well as often being seen ringside at high profile boxing promotions in the USA, he also provides narration for Showtime’s behind the scenes show 24/7 which follows the two rival pugilists in the run up to a main event. This film is an obvious passion project for its lead and is also co-written by the actor who tried for many years to get the film into production.
Whilst I was initially sceptical of his casting, it must be said that Schreiber turns in the performance of a lifetime as Wepner. It would have been easy for him to have put on a generic tough guy persona but he really does bring a depth and emotional core to the character. Wepner was no saint and the film makes no attempt to hide this fact, from his frequent adulterous relationships, to his brushes to the law.
Whilst Schreiber may not carry the physical build of the real life prizefighter he still manages to punch his weight in a successful performance inside the ropes, whilst pulling at your heartstrings outside of the ring, as we see Wepner’s spiral into depression and despair through drink and drugs. This eventually leads to the collapse of his family life and a term in a prison, which, ironically, was being used at the time as a film location for the Stallone film Lock-Up, another bizarre echo of film mirroring his real life.
The feature itself does justice to the major recorded events surrounding the Wepner v Ali fight with short clips of real footage of the press conference and ring walks of the boxers, as well as actual footage of the time Wepner took on Andre The Giant in a bizarre wrestler v boxer match up (remind you of Rocky III?).
The supporting cast are in fine form with Elizabeth Moss playing Wepner’s long suffering first wife Phyllis and Naomi Watts is almost unrecognisable as Wepner’s new love interest and future wife Linda, who plays perhaps the wisest of wise cracking barmaids you could ever wish to meet. Ron Pearlman also has some great scenes as Wepner’s real life trainer Al Braverman, along with Schreiber’s fellow Ray Donovan star, Pooch Hall, who not only mimics Ali’s southern drawl, but also his fighting style to perfection.
The standout performance has to be Morgan Spector as Sylvester Stallone. His performance here could easily be described as chameleon-like. The few short scenes here between Wepner and Stallone show both men to be very similar characters. Both hard working guys who both got their shot at greatness and the actor is shown to be charitable and gracious towards Wepner despite the fact that in reality, the two actually ended up in court in 2003 with Wepner suing for compensation.
Chuck was released theatrically on a small scale and it’s a shame that more people didn’t get to see it on the big screen. It’s ably directed by Philippe Falardeau and he really captures the gritty, urban city vibe of the films of the 1970’s along with its soundtrack and convincing sets.
Don’t go into this expecting a sports movie but more of an intimate, funny and often sad tale of one flawed man’s redemption. I really can’t recommend this film enough when comparing it to other boxing biopics. It’s not quite Raging Bull but for my money it’s a better film than both Michael Mann’s Ali and The Fighter. Highly recommended.
Film ’89 Verdict – 8/10
Chuck is available to buy in the U.K. on DVD/Blu-Ray August 21st.