We caught an advanced screening of Paddy Considine's directorial follow-up to 2011's Tyrannosaur at Broadway Cinema, where the director/writer/star was present to give a post-screening Q&A...
Director: Paddy Considine
Starring: Paddy Considine, Jodie Whittaker, Paul Popplewell
Running time: 92 mins
Early on in the post-screening Q&A at Broadway Cinema, Journeyman writer, director and leading man Paddy Considine was keen to point out that his film was not a traditional boxing movie. And for anyone intending on watching in an attempt to find the British Rocky: he’s completely correct. Other than the opening ten minutes, boxing is just the context used to tell a story of enormous emotional turmoil.
Matty Burton is the aging middleweight boxing champion of the world. Nearing the end of his career, he accepts a fight against arrogant young upstart Andre ‘The Future’ Bryte, who promises to dance on Burton’s recently deceased father’s grave in one pre-fight press conference. Burton has the awareness to know that he isn’t the most gifted fighter, nor the quickest, and certainly not the youngest, so with a loving wife and young daughter at home, he decides this fight will be his last. But following a slugfest with Bryte that goes the distance, Burton returns home victorious, only to collapse from a delayed reaction to one particularly devastating punch.
Burton emerges from the subsequent coma as a changed man. Memory loss, brain damage and a completely different personality all ensure that it’s essentially a stranger meeting his wife when he regains consciousness. It’s only upon returning home that his wife realises the extent of the struggle they face together, so severe is his brain damage. Ostracized by his former boxing friends, it’s down to his wife to be Matty’s sole carer, causing enormous strain on both their relationship and her emotional wellbeing.
Journeyman packs an enormous emotional punch that stays with you long after the credits have finished rolling
It should be said that a lesser actor could have really made a mess of portraying a character with the type of brain damage portrayed in Journeyman. Despite not originally wanting to cast himself, Considine is remarkable in what is an enormously demanding role - particularly once you consider he was also directing. He finds a vulnerable, nuanced authenticity to the performance that strikes so heartbreakingly true that, as a viewer, you can easily forget you’re watching an actor work. In one particularly emotive scene, we see Considine’s Burton in a sustained close-up as he talks to his wife on the phone, struggling to understand why she isn’t coming home. It’s the jewel in the crown of what feels like a career-defining performance.
As Burton’s wife, Jodie Whittaker is equally impressive, creating a palpable sense of chemistry between the two, both pre and post-injury. It’s refreshing to see a female character in a sports movie not fall cleanly into one of the usual clichéd categories. She doesn’t like watching Matty box, but rather than give the typical 'it’s me or the boxing' speech, she simply chooses to stay and support him from home. Similarly, when it comes to caring for Matty after his injury, she’s as strong and flawed as everyone else; a three-dimensional, believable character that has her own limits of what she can cope with.
As strong as the lead performances are, there’s a significant drop off when it comes to the supporting cast. And that’s representative of the biggest problem with the film in general. Despite the presence of an actor with Considine’s caliber, Journeyman just simply doesn't feel cinematic. Whilst Considine was keen to stress that there were both time and budget restraints during production, the majority of the cast, the overall aesthetic, the pacing and the all-too-easy conclusion all seem more familiar with an above-average one-off ITV drama. The choreography of the boxing scenes early on provide nothing really new to the genre, and too many scenes which rely on the supporting cast fall a little flat.
With that said, Journeyman packs an enormous emotional punch that stays with you long after the credits have finished rolling. Despite having moments that are a bit by-numbers, when it does explode into life, the effect is devastating. As well as his established prowess as an actor, Considine is developing a reputation for a director unafraid to emotionally challenge his audiences. It will be fascinating to see what he does next.
Did you know? During the filming of the final fight scene, extras had to be told to stop booing the referee as he stepped into the ring as it was not common practice during a real boxing match.
Journeyman is screening at Broadway Cinema from Friday 30th March
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