Now this is how you do a biopic. I'm sure it helps that the subject, Indian boxer Mary Kom, is only 31 years old now (and the film ends when she's around 25 or so), giving the filmmakers much less ground to cover. Regardless, it is very concentrated in its presentation, delivering a story that would have been captivating even if it was entirely fictional.
The film benefits immeasurably from the decision not to tell the story of Mary Kom's life, but a story of her life. There is one, very brief scene of her as a young girl, but the film doesn't waste any time with the extended childhood flashbacks that a lot of biopics include (you know the kind I mean--where they try to draw some Freudian link between a childhood event and the present). It maintains a clear focus on Mary's desire to learn to box, her successful rise in the sport, and her struggle to return to the sport after marrying and having children. No matter how successful she becomes, the film always manages to come up with a new situation or complication to make her the underdog once again. By not allowing its lead character to become complacent, the film saves itself from the same fate. It is always moving forward.
Many biopics go overboard trying to answer the cerebral question of "who" their subject really is. "Mary Kom" explores the title character's psyche, but does so in an organic way, demonstrating her personality through her actions. Her strong will is personified when she goes against her father who forbids her to box, and again later when she defies her coach who believes she is destroying her career by becoming a wife and mother. Her efforts to prove him wrong, the focus of the film's second half, provide a fun role reversal as, contrary to your typical film, her husband becomes the one taking care of the children and providing her with encouragement while she focuses on personal goals. I've read some places claiming that the film is sexist and attempting to emasculate Mary by focusing so much on her motherhood, but I strongly disagree. Watching her struggle and succeed to balance both the maternal and professional aspects of her life makes her a well rounded and, in my opinion, stronger character.
You can't write about a boxing film without including something about the quality of the fights and training sequences. The film succeeds on both counts. The boxing matches are well staged and exciting, even when you usually know what's probably going to happen. The final fight crosses a little too far into melodrama territory, as it's intercut with scenes of one of Mary's sons near death, being operated on. The moment when his vitals pick up again, followed by her sudden ability to turn the tide in the match (a psychic link perhaps?) was worthy of an eye roll or two. The final training sequence preceding the fight is top-notch as well. It's in an outdoors, wilderness setting, and would fit in well in any "Rocky" movie.
I'm sure the film made some deviations from the true story on which it is based, but I don't really care. All that matters is that it works as a movie. Very little feels out of place, so any moments, characters, or incidents invented to enhance the drama seem to have done the job seamlessly. I've enjoyed many of the foreign films I've seen this year, but it's rare for one to almost make me forget I'm watching a foreign film.
A-
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