Jawbone is the screenwriting debut of BAFTA-nominated actor Johnny Harris of This is England fame, based on his youth as an amateur fighter. With an incredible cast including Ray Winstone, Michael Smiley, and Ian McShane, the film opened to huge critical acclaim on its recent UK release.
In a career-defining performance, Harris plays Jimmy McCabe, a former junior boxing champion whose life is undone by an addiction to alcohol. Desperate and alone, Jimmy returns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: gym owner Bill (Winstone, The Departed), corner-man Eddie (Smiley, Free Fire), and promoter Joe (McShane, Deadwood). Back in training, years after anyone thought he was a contender, McCabe risks his life as he tries to stand tall and regain his place in the world.
Thomas Napper, former second-unit director for Joe Wright (Atonement), surrounds himself with excellent technicians for his feature-directing debut. Paul Weller (The Style Council, The Jam) scores, Tat Radcliffe provides exemplary cinematography and former World Boxing Champion Barry McGuigan and Shane McGuigan serve as boxing consultants to help create the film’s truly breathtaking and visceral fight scenes.
I might have to go all the way back to Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull to think of one I have admired as much as Jawbone.