Actress dukes out good performance
by Ashley Clark, entertainment editor

     This year's Sundance Grand Jury and Director winner, Girlfight, stars Michelle Rodriguez as Diana, a young girl getting into trouble at her Brooklyn high school over her pugilistic tendencies while her single dad, Sandro (Paul Calderon), pushes weekly boxing lessons on her artistic younger brother, Tiny (Ray Santiago).
     When daddy won't give her an allowance, Diana secretly convinces Tiny's trainer that she can come up with $10 per lesson and pursues boxing herself.
     Girlfight reeks of feminist values from the start when Rodriguez, leaning on a locker, glares up at us from beneath her eyelashes then randomly starts beating on a pretty classmate who's dared to steal her less attractive sister’s boyfriend and insult her sister in the process.
     Then when she picks up Tiny at the Brooklyn Athletic Club, she goes off and belts Ray, a boxer and classmate, saying, “I couldn't resist.”
     Finally, Diana goes home and scowls as she performs womanly duties of serving dinner and cleaning up.
     The point is made when she listens to a TV news report about a woman whose boyfriend set her on fire and watches a neighborhood woman struggle with her small children on the street below.
     Through the feministic undertones, a love story emerges when Diana begins formal boxing training when amateur featherweight Adrian (Santiago Douglas) catches her eye. She becomes jealous watching Adrian flirt with his oh-so-feminine girlfriend.
     Soon Diana and Adrian are thrown into each other’s company sharing dinner—she orders a rare cheeseburger with extra bacon; he has a salad with a cup of soup—and a ride home. Adrian is intrigued by this woman he can talk to.
     After escorting his trophy girl to an event Diana also attends, he is forced to realize that Diana is the one for him.
     Confrontation arises when boxing coach Hector enters Diana, his prize boxer, in the finals for the amateur featherweight championship—against Adrian.
     Writer/director Karyn Kusama has created a film in which the main character is so immediately “in your face,” it is difficult to care about the character. However, Kusama's screenplay and newcomer Rodriguez' performance gradually win the viewer over with their tendency to remain realistic.
     Kusama keeps her main character real by not letting her become a clichéd, hard-life, “angry” hoodlum. Diana, we learn, has a reason to be angry and has learned to channel anger into something productive.
     She is also shown caring for her family while trying to establish trust with Ad-rian.
     She's believable physically, training and sparring in the gym.
     She projects emotions well with subtleness, such as when discovering a home completely unlike her own, her eyes dart around, taking in all the family pictures.
     Rodriguez shows great range. She can be plain or show smoldering sexiness.
     Supporting roles are equally strong and well cast, particularly Douglas' Adrian who undergoes an anti-macho catharsis through his relationship with Diana.
     Jaime Tirelli shines as good-hearted Hector, a trainer whose mind is opened when he discovers talent in an unexpected package.
     The characters never take routine paths, and the plot builds unpredictably, yet gracefully proving that the direction is sure and strong.
     Cinematographer Patrick Cady provides a strong sense of place. Whether on the streets, in homes or in the gym, we know we’re in an urban neighborhood.
     Production is well done during the fight scenes, which are immediate and intense with some punches coming right at the camera lens.
     A creative story with a brilliant director and extremely talented cast, Girlfight feels like the real thing.