Fighting With My Family

Rating: 5/5

What is probably the biggest film surprise I've had in a long time, Fighting With My Family is an absolute gem.

Saraya (Florence Pugh) and her brother Zak (Jack Lowden) come from a family that lives and breathes wrestling. Their parents run a wrestling gym where they train young wrestlers and the whole family performs, but both Saraya and Zak have bigger plans; they want to be a part of the WWE. When Zak and Saraya get the opportunity to audition for the WWE, they are ecstatic, especially Zak. Saraya loves wrestling, but not the extent of her brother. At the audition, Saraya, who now goes by Paige, performs alongside her brother to the best of their abilities, but shockingly, only Saraya is chosen to go to the States and start the next phase of becoming a WWE professional. Now Paige has to make the decision of whether or not she'll go to America and risk the consequences of leaving her brother behind.

Let me say quite bluntly, that I am not a fan of wrestling, professional or otherwise. I've never really understood the appeal, and it's honestly something I've actually avoided watching. So why, may you ask, did I decide to watch a movie where wrestling was its primary focus? Well, as silly as it may sound, it was based on the reviews it was receiving and listening to an interview with director/writer, Stephen Merchant. His description of the film really piqued my interest, and I was also intrigued by the cast members that made up the film. So, after listening to that interview, I sat down to watch a movie about a subject matter I wasn't a fan of, and absolutely fell in love with the story. Fighting With My Family does follow some of the classic sports movie plot points, but the performances and edge it has, are all its own. Now, I'm not exactly going to start watching the WWE in my spare time, but this movie 100% gave me more respect for the grueling aspects to the sport that I wasn't aware of.

Fighting With My Family really opened my eyes to how people get interested in wrestling. I had never really viewed it like other sports, and it honestly used to baffle me as to how people could be so invested in something they know to be fixed and performed, but after watching this, I understand the draw so much more. This movie shows how the sport can bring families together. The characters cheer on their favorites and get pulled into the world created within the ring. They are raised around it and therefore it is something they love. I myself grew up in a baseball family, so I personally get overjoyed at the sound of the bat hitting the ball, the classic look of a baseball diamond, and the memories those things evoke. Fighting With My Family promotes quite a similar sentiment, just with a very different sport. I wouldn't say I'm a converted fan of wrestling now, but I certainly understand the appeal a lot more.

Never so quickly have I become a fan of an actress like I have with Florence Pugh. The first thing I saw her in was 2019's Little Women. Her performance absolutely floored me in that film, making her character of Amy go from one I had historically disliked into one that I suddenly loved. After seeing that film, I was really curious to see other movies she'd done, and her starring role in this, is one of the handful of things that made me want to see it. Her role in Fighting With My Family is a very physical one, but also quite an emotional one as well. Her character goes on an intense roller coaster throughout the plot, and Pugh completely pulls you into the story every step of the way. You believe every sarcastic comment she makes and every tear she sheds. It is honestly one of my favorite performances of the entire 2019 film catalogue.

After seeing this movie, I genuinely could not stop thinking about it. I recommended it to anyone who would listen, and continued to gush about it probably to the point of annoyance to those who I was talking with. I can't say enough great things about Fighting With My Family, and as I am writing this, I'm am already toying with the notion of watching it again today.