The movie is about Mickey Ward, a boxer (ill)trained by his half brother Dicky Eklund (Bale)and (mis) managed by his Mother (Mellisa Leo in her oscar winning role). How he has always been living in the shadow of the two and sometimes wants to break free and get what he deserves. On the other hand, Dicky wants his brother to win but is a crack addict and is not able to give him what he is capable of. The mother thinks she knows best but thats what she thinks and not what really is. Its about how they fall apart, almost ending Mickey's career and how they come together as a family again and (obviously) make him the champ.
Christian Bale is the reason, the movie is, what it really is. I am running short of adjectives to describe his performance. He plays the role of a crack addict Ex boxer Dickey minus the hamming of typical crack addict performances such amazingly well that you go oh my god. Moreover, his commitment to the character shows in his performance and especially the way he has moulded himself physically for the character. I am sure he must have lost 30-40 pounds (may be more) just to look like the character. He doesn't look like the batman we are supposed to identify with. The very first scene appears and you are like, what the heck, Is this Christian Bale? and That's the beginning. The movie just lights up whenever he is on screen. The best part (as already mentioned) is the subtelty by which he plays the role without the typical over the top crack addict portrayals. Another thing that strikes you about his performance is in the last 60 seconds when the 'real' Dickey appears when the credits are rolling and says a couple of sentences. Then you are like 'What the Fuck, he looks exactly like him and speaks exactly like him too'. This is the time you realize the brilliance of his performance. He has moulded himself physically, mentally and even speech-wise to match the real Dickey. This is when you realize the commitment of Bale towards the role. And this is when you feel the respect for the portrayal more than the adulation.
Mellisa Leo's performance also moves you but i am not sure if its the typical Oscar Winner. She was good nonetheless not sure if she deserves an oscar there since i haven't seen any of the other nominations' movies. Mark Wahlberg plays the his not aggressive, calm, serious role aptly and doesn't seem to overact and actually underplays his part which was kind of required as well. Amy Adams does a good job in her kind of possessive girlfriend portrayal too. But for me it was Bale all the way.
To be honest, apart from the performances, it was just about above average in every other department, no oh my god stuff in any other department. Though i must mention that i really liked the fight sequences shot in a typical 'real life boxing match' manner rather than being 'rocky-ish' larger than life and with slow motions and all. Really liked the straight forward manner in which the fight scens were shot making it look more like a documentary rather than a hollywood flick. Thumbs up there. But nothing great anywhere else, according to me.
Overall: A Must Watch because of Christian Bale's brilliant performance and commitment to a character
Feel-O-Meter: 8/10