Shadowboxer

An assassin (Helen Mirren) and her stepson lover (Cuba Gooding Jr.) shelter the pregnant woman they were hired to kill.

Shadowboxer may seem somewhat shocking at first, but relax; the underlying story is nothing new. Writer William Lipz does his best to distract the audience from this, throwing in a slew of disturbing relationships, graphic violence, drug use, and full-frontal male nudity, all in an effort to distract the viewer from the fairly routine story about how violence is passed from generation to generation. To his credit, Lipz almost pulls it off, but can’t resist a closing line that betrays his aloof attitude.

Which is a shame, given that Shadowboxer contains one of the best performance’s of Cuba Gooding Jr.’s career. With the exception of one scene towards the end where he goes over the top, he’s very restrained, and his interactions with Helen Mirren’s character are easily the film’s highlight. He’s simultaneously cold and emotional, and utterly engaging.

Director Lee Daniels shows a lot of promise, giving the film a nice visual flair, and bringing a sizable amount of tension to the finale. Further, his off-the-wall casting adds another level of distraction on top of Lipz’s script.

All that said, Shadowboxer is very much a take-it or leave-it kind of film, worth a look if you happen to catch it, but nothing to go out of your way for.