Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Clevercell Very disappointing...

BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

SnoopyStyle Danny Flynn (Daniel Day-Lewis) was imprisoned in his youth for I.R.A. involvement. He is released after 14 years. His old girlfriend Maggie Hamill (Emily Watson) is married to Danny's former best friend. He returns to his old neighborhood to a cold reception. In prison, he refused to openly support the I.R.A. but he also never named names. He wants to live life free from the political turmoil. He reopens the old boxing club allowing neighborhood kids and himself to fight in non-sectarian bouts. Maggie's father Joe Hamill (Brian Cox) is working for a ceasefire, prisoner releases, and ultimately peace. Maggie's husband is in prison and she still has conflicted feelings for her old love Flynn. When the cops show their support for the gym, I.R.A. hothead Harry (Gerard McSorley) is angered and the gym gets fired on. Later at a boxing match, police chief is killed in a car bomb which ends in chaos.The boxing is the least compelling part of the movie. This works more as a love story between DDL and Watson amidst the conflicts. This is like a slow moving romance. That part works by the simple force of will from the two lead actors. Brian Cox is fine but it would work better if he's harder on DDL. Gerard McSorley is basically doing that part for the movie. There are some great actors doing fine work but the movie doesn't add up to greatness.

namashi_1 Jim Sheridan & Daniel Day-Lewis make magnificent cinema together. 'My Left Foot' and 'In The Name Of The Father' were amongst the finest films of their time. 'The Boxer' which is their third collaboration together, is a yet another winner from this duo.'The Boxer' tells the story of two lovers, who are separated in violent world. The Screenplay basically centers on the life of a boxer and former Provisional IRA Volunteer, who is trying to "go straight" after his release from prison.The film begins slow, but gathers momentum post 30-minutes. The second hour is superb. The Screenplay is dark and hard-hitting. Jim Sheridan has directed the film with absolute understanding. Cinematography by Chris Menges is perfect. Editing is passable.Performance-Wise: Daniel Day-Lewis is remarkable, yet again. The Oscar-Winner plays a Boxer with unmatchable ease. Emily Watson is awesome. Brian Cox is good. Ken Stott & Gerard McSorley are fine.On the whole, A Very Well Made Film, that surely deserves a watch. Recommended!

kevintinsley Daniel Day-Lewis proves here that he is one of the best actors in film today by immersing himself so far into a role as to be almost unrecognizable, as in Gangs of N.Y. Here he plays Danny Flynn, a boxer and former IRA radical just released from prison who tries to return home to rekindle a love lost because of his prison term. Emily Watson does a fine turn here as the old flame, Maggie, now forbidden to Danny by her marriage to his best friend, still in prison for the same reasons as Danny. Some of the plot is murky, with the reasons for the IRA's antagonism towards Danny never properly explained. However, Brian Cox as the IRA chief, also Maggie's father, and Ken Stott, who plays Danny's old boxing coach, Ike, who is now a drunk living in a homeless shelter give well rounded performances. Some knowledge of the Troubles in Ireland goes a long way in helping to understand some of this movie, but I don't think it was geared to a U.S. audience, hence its low profile on the list of Day-Lewis's fine performances. Still, he and Watson's chemistry, along with the old school type of filming by director Jim Sheridan make this one of the movies I missed the first time around that I will recommend to friends as must see viewing.

ryanbuchanan_82 Jim Sheridan and Daniel Day Lewis have teamed together in the the past creating exceptional films such as "In The Name of Father" and "My Left Foot", but, "The Boxer" unfortunately will not be added to that list. Though a decent movie and well worth watching, it just doesn't captivate like I'd hoped for. Daniel Day Lewis succeeds in portraying Danny Flynn, a former prestiged boxer and IRA member recently released from prison after a 14 year sentence. Upon his release his politics have changed and he seeks peace through training kids boxing at a local gym, much to the dismay of his former IRA "friends". Emily Watson plays his long lost and bitter lover, en-raged with him for leaving her. Both do fine jobs of acting but it feels like the chemistry just isn't there, plus, their history is never quite explained and leaves you frustrated at times. My real problem with the film is that Danny Flynn's character never truly develops, and all you really find out in this film is that he was a boxer, associated with the IRA and loves Emily Watson. It briefly tells that he was imprisoned for his involvement with the IRA, but never specifies. It's obvious Sheridan wanted to touch upon the theme of Prostestant and Catholics struggle in Northern Ireland to live with each other in harmony, but personally I feel he failed at doing so.