The Bleeder (2016)

Directed by: Philippe Falardeau | 98 minutes | biography, drama, sports | Actors: Elisabeth Moss, Naomi Watts, Liev Schreiber, Ron Perlman, Michael Rapaport, Sadie Sink, Morgan Spector, Pooch Hall, Jim Gaffigan, Jason Jones, Wass Stevens, Catherine Corcoran, Ivan Martin, Angela Marie Roy, Zina Wilde, Jen Ponton

Nobody knows Chuck Wepner. Yet we all know him. And yet again not. Chuck Wepner is the boxer who modeled for Rocky Balboa in the Rocky series in the 1970s. But while Rocky’s life and character conformed to Hollywood screenplay laws, Wepner’s life was a mess. While Rocky pursued his goals with an iron will, Wepner was a man who never did anything but got through everything. Drugs, booze, adulterous marriage, bear boxing and a fight against the legendary Mohammed Ali. A fight that happened only because Ali had to fight a white man and Wepner was the highest ranked white man.

‘The Bleeder’ (nickname of Chuck, because of the many bloody injuries) tells the life story of Wepner. We see how Hollywood makes heroes out of flawed characters. Because the movie viewer doesn’t want real boxers but romantic heroes, the victimized Bleeder turned into the much more powerful Rocky. Even Wepner falls into the trap. When he sees his own interviewed headline on television, he can hardly look at it. But as soon as he sees Sylvester Stallone in the heavily romanticized reworking of his life, he recognizes himself completely in him. And we, viewers of ‘The Bleeder’, only see the huge difference between Chuck Wepner and Rocky Balboa.

‘The Bleeder’ tells this story with a dry, humorous voiceover, the kind you often see in postmodern crime films. The story is told as a retrospective, with the insight gained over the years and with the necessary self-criticism.

The intelligent, comical and touching ‘The Bleeder’ is well done in every way. With Liev Schreiber, Elizabeth Moss and Naomi Watts we get an acting masterclass. The 70s look like the 70s, not the kitschy imagination of it. For the music, the film draws on the sexy soul and funk from the early seventies. It’s icing on the tasty cake called ‘The Bleeder’. A film whose fate resembles that of its protagonist. While epic epic ‘Rocky’ took home one Oscar after another, ‘The Bleeder’ has to make do with a lousy box office revenue and some encouraging words on Cinemagazine. Because that’s how it goes in real life.