The Boxer
Nineteen-year-old Danny Flynn is imprisoned for his involvement with the I.R.A. in Belfast. He leaves behind his family and his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Maggie Hamill. Fourteen years later, Danny is released from prison and returns to his old working class neighborhood to resume his life as a boxer.
Critics Sentiment
Danny and Maggie rekindle their forbidden relationship
Police chief killed in car bomb explosion
The film's most dramatic shift occurs when the police chief bombing (4.1) destroys the hope and community unity built around the boxing match (7.4), representing a 3.3 point plunge.
The Boxer follows a classic arc of cautious hope building toward tragic collapse, with Danny's attempts at peace and normalcy repeatedly undermined by the sectarian violence around him. Critics consistently praised Day-Lewis and Watson's restrained performances and the film's complex portrayal of The Troubles, though some found the plot aimless and lacking resolution. The film's emotional peak comes during the forbidden romance, while its lowest point arrives when violence inevitably destroys the fragile community progress.
Full cast
Showing 20 of 37
Daniel Day-Lewis
Danny Flynn
Emily Watson
Maggie Hamill
Brian Cox
Joe Hamill
Ken Stott
Ike Weir
Gerard McSorley
Harry
David Hayman
Joe Hamill's Aide
Kenneth Cranham
Matt MaGuire
Lorraine Pilkington
Bride
Niall Shanahan
Groom
John Wall
Priest
Maria McDermottroe
Betty
Eleanor Methven
Patsy
Ciarán Fitzgerald
Liam
Paul Ronan
Eddie's Cornerman
Liam Carney
Mr. Walsh
Veronica Duffy
Mrs. Walsh
Des Braiden
Mr. Orr
Joan Brosnan Walsh
Mrs Orr
Ian McElhinney
Reggie Bell
Brian Milligan
Ned
Crew
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