The Featherweight

The Featherweight is a refreshingly creative approach to the sports biopic driven by the smoldering performances of leads Madio and Wolf.

It's a tight script that knows when to breathe, and it comes with a well-drawn cast. I also enjoyed that the period accuracy wasn't built from obvious milestones, and instead existed only within the immediacy of Willie Pep's experience. In the end, the story lived in a moral grey area that was neither inspirational nor cautionary, and instead felt real.

Overall I found it a very smooth and enjoyable watch, with enough levity to balance the pathos. It could probably lose a few minutes but it would be difficult to decide which scene to drop and there's not any real fat to cut.

I hope this film gets the wide release it deserves.