Ladies and gentlemen, it’s now time for the main event of the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, coming to you live from the beautiful, historic Elgin Theatre.
Introducing first, in the red corner, standing six feet five inches and weighing 223 pounds, with a professional record of 35 wins, including 17 by knockout, 14 losses and 2 draws, the former New Jersey State heavyweight champion, from Bayonne, New Jersey, please welcome from the Bleeder, Chuck “The Real Rocky” Wepner!!
His opponent, in the blue corner, standing five feet eight inches and weighing in at 170 pounds, with a professional record of 50 wins, 30 by knockout, against 10 losses, fighting out of Providence, Rhode Island, a former world champion in the lightweight, light middleweight, and super middleweight divisions, from Bleed for This, please welcome Vinny “The Pazmanian Devil” Pazienza!!
Jay was gracious enough to agree to include not one, but two boxing biopics in our TIFF schedule: The Bleeder, starring Liev Schrieber, and Bleed for This, starring Miles Teller. In an all-out battle to capture my vote, who came out on top? Let’s go ringside and find out!
The Bleeder:
The Bleeder opens perfectly, introducing us to a guy we know even though we don’t know it. That guy is Chuck Wepner, a human punching bag who took a punch so well he could go 15 rounds with anyone, even the Greatest. Yes, the man himself, Muhammad Ali. Wepner got the fight because he was the only white guy in the top ten, and during the fight he acquitted himself so well that he inspired Sylvester Stallone to write Rocky.
Along with taking a punch, Wepner’s other notable trait is the ability to consistently make the worst possible decision. To the credit of Wepner and the Bleeder, the movie does not pull any punches with Wepner’s character. He is a flawed person but the kind of flawed person who you can’t help but be charmed by. Liev Schrieber is almost unrecognizable as Wepner and does a fantastic job of showcasing the charm while also making us feel for Chuck as he suffers some severe consequences, including losing his family and going to prison.
In the end, the Bleeder does justice to the Real Rocky’s story and gives us a true underdog who makes good in a real way, in his own way. Somehow, the Real Rocky turns out to be the furthest thing from a cliche, and yet still manages to come out on top in the end.
Note: this movie has been renamed ‘Chuck’ and will hit theatres May 5.
Bleed for This:
While the Bleeder features the Real Rocky, Bleed for This features a comeback story too unbelievable to be used as a plotline in the Rocky franchise. And that’s saying something considering Rocky has come back from: (a) Mickey being shoved to death by Mr. T; (b) Apollo being beaten to death by Drago; and (c) Adrien being written to death by Stallone as a convenient reason to make yet another goddamn Rocky movie.
Miles Teller makes a good showing as Vinny Pazienza, a champion boxer whose neck was broken in a car crash. Told by doctors that he may never walk again, Paz somehow was able to return to the ring just 13 months after his accident and went on to fight boxing legends like Roberto Duran and Roy Jones Jr. Teller looks like Paz and looks like he belongs in the ring, but in the transition to the screen the real-life magic that Paz possessed is lost and Bleed for This ends up feeling like just another boxing movie. And that’s a shame, because overcoming this level of adversity should truly feel triumphant.
The Judges’ Decision:
The match goes the distance as both the Bleeder and Bleed for This are enjoyable films with charismatic turns by their stars. There can only be one champion though, and by unanimous decision The Bleeder takes the belt. The Bleeder is far more memorable because it’s not your typical happy ending, and it’s less about boxing and more about the trappings of fame.
The bottom line is that if you like boxing, you’ll enjoy both of these. The difference maker is that even if you don’t like boxing, I am still confident in recommending that you watch the Bleeder. It’s a fascinating story that captures the essence of the most interesting loser imaginable, a story so powerful that it inspired an entire movie genre. It’s a credit to Paz and his tenacity that things were even this close, as in the end Rocky always wins.
ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES 
Oh. These sound pretty good. Incredible stories, but I think I’d opt for The Bleeder also – looking forward to seeing that one.
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The stories are amazing. Bleed for This is a little more self contained but I was totally charmed by Schrieber and the 70s vibe of the Bleeder. Plus, they worked in both Ali and Stallone and that’s got to be worth something!
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Yup – reckon that’s worth double bonus points!
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I also had the opportunity to watch both and I also thought they were both pretty fantastic, however my vote goes to Bleed For This! As you mentioned, the comeback story was almost to unbelievable to be true! It was the first film I saw at TIFF this year and it is still on my mind after the festival has come to an end!
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This is a comparison where there is no wrong answer. Both are enjoyable movies made from amazing stories. Did you see any other standouts at TIFF that have stuck with you like Bleed for This did?
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Definitely not! They were both great! Buster’s Mal Heart defintiely stuck with me and I think it was because it was the most unique. It’s totally one of those movies that I really want to watch again!
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Liev Schreiber and his wife, Naomi Watts, star in The Bleeder together. Here they are at the movie’s TIFF premiere.
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Elisabeth Moss plays his first wife, and she effectively steals a couple of scenes!
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Super handsome Pooch Hall plays Ali.
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with Canadian director Philippe Falardeau
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…and this guy. They not only let Ron Perlman be in the movie, they even allowed him to attend the premiere.
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with the real Chuck Wepner.
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His official Vanity Fair TIFF portrait
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Liev: Everybody knows what a gutsy actress Naomi is; I don’t think many people know how funny she is. I really loved seeing her play Linda [in The Bleeder] because Linda is such a firecracker — she’s from Bedstuy, she’s Brooklyn Italian… She’s got style, very different from Naomi’s. And Naomi went for it, she loves that stuff, and she did such a great job.
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Naomi Watts is always good. She has such a small role in this movie though!
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She appeared and disappeared so quickly I thought it was just a cameo – glad she made it back eventually (and I KNEW she was playing wifey #2), her character was fun, she was so protective of him, I identified with that.
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Miles Teller: It was about eight months from the time I got [the role] to when I shot. When I got the part I was 188 pounds and 19% body fat. For shooting I got down to 160 pounds and 6%. It was just a lot of diet. Towards the end, I was doing four hours boxing, two hours of weights, an hour of accent/dialect and then getting massaged. So it was pretty intense.
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Harvey Dent & Reed Richards
Actually, Aaron Eckhart is very good in this. He had to step away from doing Sully press with Tom Hanks to get to TIFF but glad he did because he’s so good he may even be a contender for Best Supporting.
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I feel bad for leaving Aaron Eckhart out of my review. He was great. I wondered whether it would have worked for Eckhart to play Wepner and Schrieber to play Kevin Rooney (Paz’s trainer). They both had that charming bad decision thing down!
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With director Ben Younger. Apparently Miles Teller has waited his whole life to repeatedly strike this pose.
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some good acting chops in these, but I so hate boxing I can’t see myself doing either. Cool review though Sean 🙂
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I haven’t heard of The Bleeder…will definitely look into that one. I have, however, heard of and seen trailers for Bleed for This…very impressed with the direction Miles Teller has taken. I really like him. Great post!
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I almost didn’t recognize Liev Schrieber here, but he’s a terrific and rather underrated actor, not surprised he’s good in The Bleeder. Not really a fan of boxing (or contact sport) types of films though.
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Looks good, but not a fan of Moss. Netflix for me at some point.
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I heard Catherine Corcoran (Troma Scream Queen) is in ‘The Bleeder.’ Can anyone confirm?
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Yes she is.
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