BANG BANG. Rocky – A True Story [REVIEW]

When you go to a film festival dedicated to independent American cinema and sit down to watch a film set in modern-day, crisis-stricken Detroit, with a protagonist who’s a hard-drinking, frustrated, and bitter ex-boxer, you can confidently expect a bleak, gray film about gray lives. With this mindset, the screening of “Bang Bang” by Vincent Grashaw (“Coldwater”, “What Josiah Saw”) begins, with its core outline as I just described. However, festival adventures often have a way of surprising, with seemingly predictable titles taking unexpected turns. And that’s exactly the case here.

The protagonist of “Bang Bang”, Bernard Rozyski, has a subtle Polish touch marked in the first few minutes by a striking eagle tattoo on his shoulder. Known also by the suggestive nickname in the title, Bang Bang was once a successful featherweight boxer, but fortune hasn’t smiled on him in a long time. He lives in a rundown, unfinished house in Detroit’s economic wasteland, rolling around in a wheelchair for fun even though he can still walk, and spends most of his days drinking beer. His hobbies also include harboring resentment against Washington, a Black mayoral candidate and former ring rival. One day, his estranged daughter shows up, dropping off Justin, his troubled teenage grandson. Initially unwilling to take care of Justin, Bang Bang finds a new spark when he decides to train the boy in boxing. This decision energizes Rozyski and sets off a chain of events that may—or may not—change the lives of both him and his grandson, while forcing him to confront his past.

It sounds a bit like a gritty version of “Rocky” or similar films about the tear-filled, sweat-drenched path to success and redemption. Boxing is there, but Grashaw leads “Bang Bang” down less obvious paths. The film doesn’t become a sports drama or a redemption story—not in the traditional sense, at least. More than the boxing or the “old fighter trains young talent” narrative, the creators focus on how the protagonist has arranged himself in his fall. With a few twists, “Bang Bang” becomes a reflective story, prompting a bitter examination of the scars inflicted by upbringing and the life ruts prepared by circumstances and family. If “Bang Bang” does reference “Rocky”, it’s in reverse—it’s not a story of overcoming challenges but rather a reflection on how those challenges shape us. In this sense, Grashaw and screenwriter Will Janowitz seem to say that for every success story like Balboa’s, there are many more stories of failure and broken lives like Rozyski’s.

The main character is far from straightforward as well. We meet him almost at rock bottom—an aging boxer living nearly like a vagrant, grumbling at everyone and everything, making racist and sexist remarks, and carrying a loaded revolver he wouldn’t hesitate to use. But as we get to know him, we find that beneath this harsh exterior lies an empathetic, intelligent, but deeply wounded man scarred by others, life, and himself. In this way, “Bang Bang” slowly unpacks the ethos of this rough old man, exploring why he became who he is. Along the way, we also get an interesting microcosm of a society in crisis, where maybe the solution isn’t necessarily in the boxing ring.

Despite its weighty themes, “Bang Bang” is surprisingly light-hearted, thanks to its unforced humor. Tim Blake Nelson shines in the lead role, his comedic talent bringing a dose of levity even to Bang’s unkind insults, turning them into unexpected comedic breaks. This humor brings balance to the otherwise bleak script, grounding it in a realistic, bittersweet world. The result is a dynamic dramedy that not only teaches but also entertains.

“Bang Bang” may not seem like the obvious choice for a Grandparents’ Day movie. You won’t find much here to inspire faith in the family as the foundation of a healthy society. Yet unlike many films that espouse such values, Grashaw’s movie presents real emotions, a solid realistic foundation, and sharp reflections on human relationships (not only within families). And it also offers a few laughs. Not bad for a film that opens with a drunken boxing practice by a half-naked, scrappy sixty-year-old.