Punch (2022)

Director: Welby Ings
Stars: Tim Roth, Jordan Oosterhof, Conan Hayes

Jim is a seventeen-year-old boxer in a small town. He's a golden boy, preparing for a fight that will elevate him to an early professional status. All bets are on his climb to success. But his father Stan is a demanding coach and a notorious alcoholic. As Jim begins to rethink why he is fighting, his life tangles with Whetu, a razor-tongued, gay Maori boy who spends his days in an old shack with his dog Moimoi where he cobbles together a fragile glamour and dreams of leaving town to become a musician. Away from the rainbow flags and Pride parades, Jim and Whetu must navigate isolation, hypocrisy, the brutality of small-town boxing, and an anonymous queer bashing that no one will talk about. As Jim stumbles towards discovering what it really is to be a gay man, he is forced to understand that strength has little to do with heroism.

Punch certainly felt polished and pretty well developed. The cinematography and ambience worked for the film - it was actually quite beautiful.

What stops this film from being successful in my eyes was a slightly confused narrative alongside a dubious script. Without going into details, much of the characters' dialogue really feels like it needed a rewrite - it was awkward and a bit jarring in many parts and the actors struggled to make it believable.

Some characters and plot points felt undeveloped, and that might be due to the fact that the central story (the boxing match) altogether wasn't strong or compelling enough to carry the weight of the film all by itself.

All in all it was still a wonderful film and I would definitely encourage others to watch.

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