A story of father and son equally tragic and inspiring, Embattled flips sports movie tropes on it head in its portrayal of negative and positive masculinity clashing in and out of the cage.
Directed by Nick Sarkisov (Krasny) and scripted by David McKenna (American History X), the 117 minutes Embattled proves to be a scrapper of a fight movie, hitting its mark with the right combination of gritty family drama and excellent performances, especially from the forever underrated Stephen Dorff.
Dorff stars as Cash Boykins, a two-division champion for fictional mixed martial arts organisation the World Fighting Organisation. An unholy mix of brash, incredibly crude, and rich, the undeniably talented Cash is also an incredibly abusive father, as proven in scenes of domestic violence in which his youngest son Quinn (Colin McKenna), born with Williams Syndrome, is the scorn of his anger.
Nevertheless, Cash’s older son Jett (Darren Mann) wishes to follow in his father’s footsteps, until repressed memories of Cash’s violent past upon him and his family come flooding back, leading to a showdown between father and son for the whole world to see.
In the portrayals of Cash and Jett, Embattled presents a spectrum of masculinity from the toxic to the positive. Although fighting is their passion, the reason for how and why Cash and Jett fight are miles apart, with anger and violence the poison that pollutes a relationship between father and son. The severing of this most intimate of connection from the hand of a father motivated and driven by hate is tragic to watch.
As Cash, the ever-versatile Dorff delivers one of his best turns, enthusing his cocky MMA fighter with a crude demeanour that is impressive in its ability to shock, Dorff’s grizzled southern draw delivering those put-downs with authority. Equally important is Dorff’s portrayal of violent anger that engulfs everyone in his rage, as seen in scenes of domestic violence that leave a mark.
Daniel Mann as Jett counters with a portrayal of positive masculinity with its blend of hard work, humility, discipline, and above all a sense of guardianship as seen in his heart felt relationship with his brother Quinn.
It all culminates in a battle in the MMA cage that Sarkisov captures with intimate intensity, the grunts and breaths and smack of every punch captured in a highly emotive physical battle that tells its own tale of retribution, revenge, and resurrection, with Embattled a film strong in spirit, emotion, and fight.
