Glass Jaw is a 2018 drama about a one time champion boxer who goes to prison and loses everything, struggling through trials and tribulations to redeem his reputation, his belt, and his true love.
What is it about a boxer’s story that has him or her so weighted by their pasts that the ring is the only place that feels like home, or at least where they can fight back the demons that haunt them? Near countless movies in the genre have embraced this cornerstone, the brutality and punishment of the fight acting both as atonement and cleansing for troubled souls. Director Jeff Celentano‘s latest entry in the genre is Glass Jaw, a story that clings fairly close to these norms, steadfastly towing the line we’ve come to expect, yet nonetheless managing to spin an entertaining and often affecting experience out of the threadbare plot.
Travis Austin (Lee Kholafai) is a rising star in the boxing world, sitting atop a new light heavyweight championship and bright future. He’s got a beautiful house in the hills, a lovely girlfriend named Dana (Korrina Rico), and a manager, Eddie Abundez (Reynaldo Gallegos), looking out for him. Celebrating his recent title fight with friends gathered at his lavish home, all things look good until a tragedy reveals itself the next morning, leaving a young girl dead and Travis besieged with guilt, taking the blame for something he didn’t do in order to protect someone else. He lands in prison for four years and slowly loses everything, forced to rebuild his life and try to earn it all back.
Glass Jaw begins with a young Travis (Jack Fisher) living in a rundown trailer with a gambling addicted father (Jon Gries), he neglecting his children and abusing his wife. He gives up Travis to child services, separating him from his younger sister, imbibing some harsh words of wisdom that plants the seeds of bitterness and isolation from the start. It’s these opening moments that have some of the best impact, with the always terrific Gries creating an honestly upsetting figure that casts a long shadow on the remainder of the story.
However, Celentano doesn’t give Glass Jaw all that much style beyond the usual, keeping it mostly on a singular track that unfolds rather cut and dry, with light visual flourishes to keep it an easy-to-follow journey. We cut from scene to scene with few surprises. However, that’s not to say there’s nothing compelling about Travis and his fight to get out from under the pain of his past. While the script might not always punch like it should, there’s no denying it gets a few hooks in you the more it plays out, leading to a predictable but rousing end, something every boxing movie has done since Rocky laid down the rules.
The road to redemption is a well worn path in cinema, the boxing ring easily the most reliable place to make it happen. Glass Jaw doesn’t steer too far off the road, with its burdened fighter, worried lover, aging curmongeny trainer (Mark Rolston), and a host of other landmarks we’ve seen before. You’ll never not know where this story is going, yet there’s a kind of comfort in that, which is why so many movies like this get made. I can’t deny the filmmaker’s enthusiasm for their film and for that, it’s worth a look. Recommended for boxing movie fans.
Glass Jaw releases October 26, 2018