A British drama; A story about a former youth boxing champion who has fallen on hard times, drawn to the demon drink, but with a glimmer of hope smouldering and crackling enough to burn off any excess fat, alcohol and personal redundancy. Johnny Harris delivers a believable performance risking his life for a meagre pay day against a backdrop of an inner London estate that he calls home albeit disappearing around him which presents a powerful undertone. He turns to the only family he has left: a boxing gym owner. Ray Winstone plays this straight forward good egg; his corner man is the suitably supportive Michael Smiley. Ian McShane is sharp and slick as the promoter, and the foil. The film is tightly scripted, well-balanced and of good length and unsurprisingly good repeat viewing with very little histrionics. The drawbacks are plot progression. It has a well-worn boxing narrative and lacks cinematic scale. That said, it is a well-observed modern day boxing drama.
Review of Jawbone
