THE FEATHERWEIGHT Trailer: A Boxing Champion Fights His Last Round in Verité-Like Tribute
James Madio brings back to life featherweight boxing champion Willie Pep in The Featherweight. Cinematographer Robert Kolodny makes his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Steve Loff that pays tribute to both an athlete and the cinema verité of the 1960s. Shot in a faux documentary style, it follows Pep (Madio) an Italian-American boxer and featherweight champion who decides to make his return to the ring in his mid-40s, all while dealing with a struggling marriage to his younger wife (newcomer Ruby Wolf) and drug-addled son (Keir Gilchrist). It had its world premiere at last year’s Venice Film Festival where it received a 6-minute standing ovation. Ahead of its September theatrical release, the official trailer has just arrived courtesy of Tuckman Media.
Straight out of its screening at First Look 2024, HtN wrote “Sports biopics have been considered an overrated genre, unless a singular vision can elevate it to new levels of storytelling. In The Featherweight, director Robert Kolodny takes the comeback story and puts a documentary spin on it, making it more immersive and true to life. The film was shot as if a documentary crew was following Pep’s every step, having us witness his human flaws and the people around him… James Madio lights the screen on fire with a portrayal full of realism and old-school charm. Robert Greene’s editing and Adam Kolodny’s cinematography both add expressive layers. The Featherweight’s evocation of the era and its filmmaking make for one truly absorbing watch.
As the official synopsis reads:
Set in the mid-1960s in Hartford, Connecticut, The Featherweight presents a gripping chapter in the true-life story of Italian-American boxer Willie Pep the winningest fighter of all time—who, down and out in his mid-40s and with his personal life in shambles, decides to make a return to the ring, at which point a documentary camera crew enters his life. Painstakingly researched and constructed, the film is a visceral portrait of the discontents of twentieth-century American masculinity, fame, and self-perception.
The film also stars Stephen Lang, Ron Livingston, Lawrence Gilliard Jr, Shari Albert, and pro boxer Bruce Carrington. Former Hammer To Nail contributor and documentary filmmaker Robert Greene (Procession, Kate Plays Christine) also serves as editor and a producer.
The Featherweight will be released theatrically in New York and across Pep’s hometown state of Connecticut on September 20, before expanding to Los Angeles on September 27.
Check out the trailer below.
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