Bruised

 
 

“While Bruised gets a gold star for lesbian representation, other stereotypes prove to be its weakest elements.”


Title: Bruised (2021)
Director: Halle Berry 👩🏽🇺🇸
Writer: Michelle Rosenfarb 👩🏼🇺🇸

Reviewed by Carolyn Hinds 👩🏾🇧🇧🇨🇦♿️

Technical: 3.75/5

Anyone who’s seen Halle Berry’s work knows that she is a talented performer, willing and more than capable of playing a myriad of roles. In her directorial debut, Bruised, Berry grows that skill set behind the camera while still starring on screen as the lead character Jackie “Pretty Bull” Justice.

As a director, Berry demonstrates the ability to craft a story with heart, grit, and tenacity—characteristics Jackie also possesses. Following the story written by Michelle Rosenfarb, Jackie is a former UFC fighter in her late thirties who can’t seem to get her life back on track after running away from the Octagon, or the UFC ring, over four years prior. Now living with her boyfriend Desi (Adan Canto), Jackie’s mundane life cycles through the ritual of trying to hide her alcoholism and working as a housekeeper.

Being a sports film, action is expected—and begins right away with an introductory montage of Jackie disoriented, her vision blurring mid-fight. We get a first-person perspective of being in a violent UFC bout, and Berry does an impressive job depicting the brutality of mixed martial arts (MMA).

Intentional sound design gives weight to each blow being struck. We can hear the exhaustion in performers’ breathing. Films like John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019), for which Berry did her own stunts and trained with some of the best fight choreographers in the business, have certainly given her the experience and spatial awareness needed for the audience to clearly see the action and enjoy the quick pace of the fights. And visually, Bruised mirrors its characters—real and unpretentious. Cinematography by director of photography Frank G. DeMarco gives the film a rough, off-color feel that carries over into the clothing by costume designer Mirren Gordon-Crozier.

Performances succeed, but it’s Danny Boyd Jr. who becomes the emotional heart among the cast. Anyone who’s seen him in projects like HBO’s Watchmen and Barry Jenkins’ The Underground Railroad knows how impressive he is, and he brings that depth to this role, all of his emotions and thoughts telegraphed through physical performance.

Overall, the film can be considered bare bones. On the one hand, this works with the story being told, the rough edges blending well with what Berry is trying to convey. But it could’ve used a bit more refining, a couple more years of marinating, perhaps, to have pushed Bruised beyond yet another straight-to-streaming blip in Netflix’s stacked release calendar.

Gender: 5/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? YES

On top of Bruised being written and directed by women and centered around Jackie, it takes place in a world where women dominate, control their own professional and personal lives, and regularly interact with each other.

By virtue of having multiple female relationships, viewers are treated to a breadth of what women experience. In her personal life, Jackie’s mother Angel (Adriane Lenox)—after years of no communication—turns up at her daughter’s doorstep with her young grandson Manny (Danny Boyd Jr.) in tow. The tension between mother and daughter is unmistakable and acrimonious on both sides.

Offsetting that is Buddhakan (Sheila Atim), Jackie’s trainer. Unlike her mother, Buddhakan offers a listening ear and encourages Jackie to push past the limits that she’s set up for herself. She guides Jackie into channeling her rage in a healthy and productive manner, and these scenes between Berry, Atim, and Boyd provide Bruised with some of its more tender moments—a necessity for a film that has intense violence and story elements that deal with physical and sexual abuse.

Race: 3.5/5

Bruised joins a very short list of sports-action dramas directed by Black women, with Gina Prince-Bythewood’s work—The Old Guard (2020) and Love & Basketball (2000)—coming to mind. Here, the main cast is made up of mostly Black actors so “positive representation” certainly applies on a surface level. It’s also exciting to see someone like Buddhakan, the first professional Black female MMA trainer I’ve seen in a mainstream feature film. Never once does her gender or race get used as a rote dig against her. Same goes for Jackie.

With that being said, I do have one small quibble with the portrayal of ethnicity. Desi has tattoos of the flag of Puerto Rico and the word “BORICUA” across his chest despite being played by Canto, who is Mexican American. While this may not seem like a big deal, at no time does being Puerto Rican play into Desi’s characterization. So why not have him be Chicano? A small change like this would only strengthen the film overall.

A larger negative can be found in the screenplay, which falls into a lot of Black and Latino tropes. Far too often I have watched films (and shows) where Black women and Black girls must endure sexual assault, while their mothers are painted as selfish, often caring more about the men they bring into their homes rather than their daughters (as is the case for Jackie and Angel.) Furthermore, living as a Black woman in North America, in this world, provides more than enough reason for a character like Jackie to be filled with rage, sorrow, regret, and frustration, without sexual and domestic violence being involved. 

Tying into that is the stereotyped character of Desi, who turns volatile after finding out that Jackie had signed with a fight promoter and manager. Filled with jealousy and bitterness, he takes his anger out on Manny who is just a child. In movies (and TV), Latino men are disproportionately shown as violent and possessive. Even the clothing Desi wears—a white sleeveless undershirt in some scenes, shirtless and tattooed in others—play into this damaging Hollywood trope. It’s these stereotypes that prove to be the film’s weakest elements.

Bonus for LGBTQ: +1.00

Bruised gets a gold star for its lesbian and queer representation in Buddhakan and Jackie. As they train together, both women grow closer, sharing intimate scenes where they candidly speak about their personal struggles and uncertainties. This intimacy becomes physical as they develop a romantic relationship. It’s wonderful to see Jackie’s personal growth and vulnerability fostered by Buddhakan, while Buddhakan is also able to shed the detached persona she must uphold in the gym.

These two women are a great example of how LGTBQ characters can have full identities where their sexuality and gender are just a fact of life rather than used as a trite plot element.

Bonus for Age: +0.75

With The Old Guard, Gunpowder Milkshake (2021) and now Bruised, we’re finally seeing women like Berry—who is over 50 years old—getting the same types of physically demanding roles that male action stars of a similar age, like Keanu Reeves and Tom Cruise, are regularly offered without comment.

Mediaversity Grade: A- 4.67/5

Though I have my issues with some of the film’s narrative choices, Bruised remains enjoyable and features great performances. 

By signing a partnership deal with Netflix, Berry has cemented more opportunities for herself and likely other people of color, if Bruised is any evidence. As a director, actor, and producer, Berry continues to push herself to the limits. I’m excited to see what she does next. I wouldn’t say no to a spin-off for her John Wick character of Sofia, is all I’m saying.


Like Bruised? Try these other gritty action flicks on Netflix.

Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)

The Old Guard (2020)

Army of the Dead (2021)