“They Fight” opens on Walter Manigan’s face as he’s questioned by a parole panel. “Do you know what contrition is?” He knows all too well. Dogged by guilt and grief, Manigan (André Holland) meets their gazes with solemnity. “I need to get back to Southeast,” he says of his old Washington, D.C. neighborhood. “I’m damaged, I know that, but I’m still useful.”
A once-respected corner man, Manigan will prove that utility when he begins giving sweet science lessons to boys at a community center, among them: Peanut (Anthony B. Jenkins), Quincey (Toussaint Francois Battiste) and Twin (Tory Jacqui Malone).
Inspired the 2018 documentary of the same name, the sports drama directed by Sheldon Candis (written with Andrew Renzi), arrives with the one-two punch of Holland and Wendell Pierce. Pierce’s Slim is the bearish boxing coach and mentor who gives Walt a place to lay his head, and his plastic bag of possessions. Walt’s partner, Ketta (Samira Wiley), may be rooting for him, but isn’t ready to invite him to live with her and their young son.
In addition to a brewing match between two of the fast-fisted friends, there is an undercard bout. In one corner there’s a script that telegraphs its punches and leans too heavily on a traditional protagonist’s journey — will Walt beat his demons? In the other corner, there’s a wiry story that recognizes how the community — Slim, Ketta, the kids but also Mykelti Williamson’s Turk, who helps with a job — is the hero. The film’s nuanced moments are found in that encircling amity in which they all fight.
They Fight Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 38 minutes. Watch on Hulu.
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