FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY (2019) MOVIE REVIEW
Having a biopic made about yourself is no small feat but when you have said biopic made when you are only 26 years old, that is something most would seem to be an impossibility. For Saraya Knight, now known as WWE's Paige, this impossibility became a reality as she would go on to be a key figure in the ongoing women's revolution and prove to young male and female wrestlers everywhere you can be a superstar no matter your upbringing (a key message exclaimed throughout the film).
Growing up wrestling fans since they were young, siblings Saraya (Florence Pugh) and Zak (Jack Lowden) have dedicated most of their life to become professional wrestlers as they have been training and wrestling from their parent's amateur wrestling promotion. Despite their small upbringing, both are incredibly skilled in the squared-circle and continually send tapes into WWE in hopes of being accepted for a tryout. After months and months of waiting, they get the call back and are invited to a tryout at the O2 arena. Although both brother and sister are invited, only Saraya is accepted to travel further to WWE's developmental system NXT. So begins Saraya's journey to become the next big WWE superstar and deal with the burden of continuing a dream that her brother has had longer and one that her parents could not achieve. Being a biopic, it is easy to see why the plot for the film is one that is very relate-able. One sibling is given an opportunity the other feels wants and deserves it just as much. Some of the best conflicts are the ones that are easy to relate to on both ends of the spectrum and that is what ultimately drives Fighting With My Family, the fact that the whole fighting aspect of the family is more what the family does as a profession and not the hateful kind of fighting. Overall, a simple plot to follow and an even easier one to get invested into.
Being a massive wrestling and WWE fan, excitement for a movie like this was at an all-time high as I actually knew the full story before going into this film. Throughout the movie we are given a look into the inner workings of a WWE event around Wrestlemania season. While there is a decent look into the structure of sports entertainment, I feel they could have gone much deeper in terms of the inner workings and really emphasise certain things like timing and respect behind the scenes as towards the end, it feels like everything is working out too well for Saraya. This however doesn't stop the rest of the movie from being a nice heart felt family driven story. This is aided by the performances given by our main family members Saraya and Zak whom both do great and genuinely seem to have a connection that only a brother and sister can have. Same can be said for the mother and father played by Lena Headey and Nick Frost respectively as they show tender love and care towards both son and daughter when they desperately need it. Lastly someone who I feel might get overlooked in his role is Vince Vaughn as NXT head coach Hutch. Despite appearing one-dimensional in his first appearance, his character slowly grows as the film progresses and gives us a reason behind his stern and at times tough nature, something that shows that lasting effects a business like this has on people.
Overall, I was surprised. Being the solo-directorial debut for actor Stephen Merchant, he knocked it out of the park. Although the movie won't be a classic down the line, that's not what a movie like this needed to be. Fighting With My Family was supposed to tell the story of an outcast becoming the role model for millions of children and adults around the world. And that's exactly what happened. Paige would become that role model on screen and now she has become that role model behind the scenes as well thanks to this feel good bio-pic that was needed to show the kind-hearted side to professional wrestling.
OVERALL
7 / 10
