Poor Boy's Game (2007) User Reviews (19)

Lots of Canadian faces attached to a story of forgiveness

[juneebuggy · 6/10 · 24 December 2015]

This was an average sort of movie. It didn't leave any lasting impressions despite an interesting premise and gritty storyline. Poor Boy's Game is a movie built around a boxing match, but its most powerful scenes involve the ongoing human drama. I still found this a bit all over the place, the characters underdeveloped and their motivation vague.

The story is ultimately about forgiveness and redemption following Donnie (Rossif Sutherland) who has just been released from prison after serving 10 a ten year sentence for beating a man so badly he suffered permanent mental disability. Upon his release he goes back to his old crew of familiar (Canadian faces) hard drinking racist A--holes for the most part and then through guilt I suppose agrees to enter into a boxing grudge match that he knows will end either in his loss or death.

The plot gets strange then as Danny Glover agrees to help train Donnie even though he is the man responsible for beating his son. This all culminates into some kind of racial war; churches burn, people are killed in revenge killings and then the big showdown takes place in the ring. The boxing isn't great here either, kinda cheesy as is the ending where both boxers have to work together in the ring.

There is a big Canadian cast attached to this, lots of actors I recognized from assorted TV shows and then Danny Glover. Weird. It has also been filmed and takes place in Halifax but had a feel of one of those movies filmed in Canada but meant to take place in America. 12/1/15

Good premise - things unravel quickly from there...

[bpf851 · 5/10 · 23 December 2007]

I just finished watching Poor Boy's Game. It starts off with a fantastic, interesting premise - Donnie (Rossif Sutherland) goes to prison as a young offender for beating a young black man to the point that he is subsequently permanently mentally disabled. Ten years down the road, George (Danny Glover) the father of this disabled boy and Donnie cross paths again when Donnie gets out of prison. Sounds pretty good right? Well, a great premise just degenerates into a convoluted story that essentially gets lost in whatever point the movie is trying to make.

The story becomes fairly unbelievable when a black boxer, Ossie Paris (Flex Alexander) decides to enter into a grudge match following Donnie's 10 year stint in prison. Ossie was apparently friends with the disabled teenager prior to the assault. For some unexplained reason, Donnie's posse and Ossie's posse get into an inter-racial war eventually resulting in the murder of Donnie's family member Keith Rose (Greg Bryk) after he is involved in burning down the local black church. The movie culminates in a somewhat cheesy boxing ring showdown between Ossie and Donnie in which the handicapped guy gets hit with a chair.

So what makes this movie so unbelievable? Well first off, it is set in Halifax, Canada. Enough said there. The worst part of the plot is the fact that George (Danny Glover) decides to become Donnie's boxing coach... remember that George is the father of the kid Donnie beat into retardation 10 years prior. There is actually a fairly large attempt to cover up this glaring plothole throughout the film. For instance - When Donnie first enters the boxing gym, George repeatedly says to Donnie "I'm not doing this for you." There is also another scene when Donnie's posse is riding in a vehicle and Keith Rose keeps repeating 'George is coaching you - that's f**ked up.' So at least they tried to address it...

As for any sort of thematic coherence, don't look for it here. Just so you are aware:

1) Racism is bad 2) Redemption 3) People change over time 4) Don't judge a book by its cover 5) We are all really the same deep down inside

Glover, Sutherland, and Regan particularly deserve credit for lending credibility to a fairly bizarre plot line. Their performances really make this movie worth watching. I recommend this movie if you've got some time to kill. Shut off your brain and let the above average acting by these three cancel out the sub-par script. If you like sappy feel good movies that keep a quick tempo, you might also enjoy this movie.

A film with the younger man in mind

[LINKBook · 7/10 · 14 April 2008]

I will watch Danny Glover in anything, and he did not disappoint. You may notice if you scan the ratings that the scores hold consistently for females across age groups and decline noticeably among males as they age. I believe I know why. The reconciliation is less true to my experience of male interactions and difficult to believe despite the best efforts of the leads. The less experience one has of male interactions, the more satisfying the ending will be. I thought it was interesting that the female ratings blipped up a bit in the 55+ range; I wonder if it's because the bad man gets it and the supporting female actress ends up with the good man. I'll know when I know what women talk about when there are no men around, I suppose.

Previous Comments ARE IRRELEVANT!

[nc882715 · 1/10 · 27 November 2009]

I cannot believe that people wrote anything good or remotely good about this film. The lead role, played by Rossif Sutherland, should be his last stint in the acting biz. He acted like Keanu Reeves on Xanax. Then the mentally handicapped character was a real disgrace to the handicapped all over the world. The boxing scenes looks like Mike Tyson's Punchout and Danny Glover! Does he even have any credibility? If your even dreaming about watching this movie, it's a bad idea. It's embarrassing that people spent millions on this movie, and there's not even any brasts to make up for its poor plot line, horrible cast and Lifetime original movie feel.

Both Sides of Forgiveness

[gradyharp · 8/10 · 1 March 2008]

POOR BOY'S GAME is a little film with a big message: hate can only be altered with forgiveness, remorse and redemption. The highly respected Jamaican director Clément Virgo (episodes on 'The Wire', 'The L Word', 'Soul Food', and films 'Love Comes Down', 'Lie With Me', etc) here takes on the tough subject of racism and the accompanying backlash of consequences and with co-writer Chaz Thorne produces a small but pungent film that touches many aspects of the schism between whites and blacks in the seemingly tranquil town of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Isolating the story in such an unlikely place serves to heighten the core problems the film addresses.

Donnie Rose (Rossif Sutherland) is released from prison, having served nine years for the brutal beating of Charles Carvery (K.C. Collins) which left the victim severely brain damaged. Upon release Donnie returns to his old neighborhood to live with his mother and find work as a security guard in a bar. Largely due to the bad influence of Donnie's belligerent and bigoted brother Keith (Greg Bryk), Donnie has to struggle with his family situation, trying to avoid the pain and guilt of his past while coping with his own dark secrets. His victim's father George (Danny Glover) stalks Donnie with the intent of killing him for the damage he has inflicted on both only his son and wife (Tonya Lee Williams), but the racial tension he encounters magnifies the underlying tragedy of the past - a factor both Donnie and George must face. Violence between the blacks and whites erupts and the resolution is to be decided in a boxing match between the superior boxer Ossie Paris (Flex Alexander) and Donnie. After a touching encounter following a tragedy, George and Donnie bond and George trains Donnie for the fight, the first sign of erasing racial tension. How the crucial fight preparations proceed and how the fight results from the resolution of the critical conflict that has eroded the town and these people forms the surprising closure of this story.

The cast is strong with the quiet lead from Danny Glover and the smoldering, conflicted Donnie by Rossif Sutherland, the fine young Canadian actor whose father is Donald Sutherland and whose half brother is Kiefer Sutherland. The film very quietly explores other conflicts, such as Donnie's sexual and emotional life with his black cell mate in prison, adding to the exploration of human behaviors that influence interpersonal schisms and barriers. This may be a low budget movie but it is a solid work well worth viewing. Grady Harp

Just an average Movie..

[katja-bush · 4/10 · 30 December 2007]

I decided to watch this movie after I read the good reviews here on IMDb. I'm not impressed, it will be just an average movie, to me it is important that I can relate to the characters and the storyline, it has to touch me and feel "real" in some way. My expectations have not been met, at times the storyline felt so unreal to me that I was close to stop watching the movie.

If you feel like this movie and storyline interests you ( as this is why I watched it in the first place) go right ahead, but if you expect a great movie that might makes you want to light up a cigarette because it is so great..forget it.

Very good drama about forgiveness and redemption

[sttaresss · 8/10 · 20 February 2008]

After seeing this film at the Pan African Film Festival, I was struck not just by the importance of its message but the universal appeal of the film as a whole. This is a story that truly crosses racial boundaries. Danny Glover is excellent as usual, but the entire cast is talented, and the lead actor, Rossif Sutherland, is definitely one to watch. The story begins with a vicious attack by an almost unreedemable lead character. His journey through the prison system to the boxing ring forces him to confront his inner demons, and to ask forgiveness from those he has harmed. Definitely worth seeing at a film festival or anywhere you can find it!

Spoiler

[frankdcx · 1/10 · 10 January 2008]

SPOILER

Can"t agree. Tired story line, lame acting and the worst fight scene's I've ever seen in a movie.

Whatever message the film tried to get across, was lost in a morass of banality. I would sooner go ten rounds against both boxers at the same time, than watch this "film"? again.

Danny Glover must surely have made this movie as a favour, He's not the best actor in the world by a long way..... but he wasted his time with this turkey as surely as I wasted mine watching it.

Regarding the "sodomizing of his cell mate" It was one of only very few credible scenes in the whole film. The cell mate was the only believable character in this whole sorry enterprise.

This is only my opinion but I am truly shocked that previous reviewers were so impressed by what was the worst film I've seen for a long time.... but I respect your opinions.

A work of art

[pilotpilot · 10/10 · 23 December 2007]

This movie is the best I've seen for a long time. It is one of those rare movies where the technical details are so good that they are transparent to the viewer and the acting and directing is so good it gives you a chill down your spine.

*** the following might contain spoilers *** ( I have added the spoiler warning just to be safe but I don't really think it can be spoiled)

The moto of the movie is confusion and lack of borders, morally and psychologically, and it is expressed in a brilliant way in a lot of different levels : the hero who has to reconcile his homosexual behaviour in jail with his heterosexual identity outside it, the tense relationship between the black and white communities which come to a climax in the neighbourhood's club, the relationship of the hero to his absent father as opposed to the (black) father who adopts him, the relationship of the hero with his mother - a few times he has to listen to her having sex with her boyfreind which is a very strong way of portraying the collapse of his psychological borders, and most of all the confusion that is created when the father of the kid that the hero tried to murder adopts him(!) and trains him to a boxing fight so he will not die, even this fight does not come to any conclusion and is just blurred away with no winners or losers.

*** end of spoiler alert ****

It seems that in one short story, the movie succeeds in portraying a wide variety of complexities of life in a way which is not righteous or preaching. This is a beautiful and intelligent movie, I hope it will get the appropriate credit it deserves.

My Review

[joemamaohio · 8/10 · 5 August 2008]

Young Donnie Rose (Rossif Sutherland) spent 10 years in jail for brutally attacking Charles Carvery (K.C. Collins), an African American.

Now up on parole, Charlies' father, George (Danny Glover) doesn't want Donnie released, but he's freed from prison after serving 10 years.

Now back in his hometown, Donnie is hit head-on with a life that continued while he was gone. His brother Keith (Greg Bryk) has married and has a kid, but is still a womanizer. His mother is now with a different guy, and Mr. Carvery is seething with revenge.

Donnie wants to make things right, so he agrees to fight a boxer named Ossie (Flex Alexander) - who was one of Charles' good friends. Ossie wants revenge and vows to destroy Donnie, and at first Mr. Carvery is all for it, but he slowly begins to realize what revenge and hatred does to you, and in a stunning move he begins to help Donnie practice for the big fight.

"Poor Boy's Game" is more than just merely a boxing movie. It tackles the important issue of racism in the world, as the city Donnie's in is completely against African Americans (they won't let them in the club, and they even burnt down their church). It's also a story of revenge and retribution, and how revenge really never makes you feel good. A very thought-provoking, emotional film with terrific actors, and I highly recommend seeing it.

a fascinating, moving movie with real characters

[gonetotvheaven · 8/10 · 15 February 2008]

***spoiler alert*** it struck me as i watched the final showdown fight scene that i didn't know what was going to happen in the fight, i didn't know what any of the characters (except ossie) really wanted to happen, and i didn't feel that any of it made a huge difference in what i thought of this film.

so much happens in the body of the film, real characters with often uncertain personal motivations (thankfully a movie w/out bland expositionary dialogue or voice-over--i mean, when my girlfriend and i have a conflict, it's not like i have a voice-over guide to what's happening. i'm just in it, and have to figure it out on my own), and the resolution is very real also--no explosions, no shootouts, no grand speeches, no great epiphanies of startling brilliance--omigod! it's almost just like real life.

this is a movie that takes on race, class, sexuality, anger, fear, pride, remorse, and does it all with great acting, great script, and great directing. well worth the price of admission for those tired of the bs canned movies that Hollywood likes to try and feed us.

I was impressed

[rgcustomer · 8/10 · 22 August 2008]

I haven't had much good to say about films shot in Canada recently, but this is the exception. I hope race relations in Nova Scotia aren't this bad, but the film made me believe each of the characters were real. They all had a depth to them, and as others have mentioned, were all acted very well. It's true that some of this territory has been covered before, but I think it's safe to say nobody saw this particular ending coming quite the way it happened. My last comment is about the boxing scene, which I felt was unique in conveying the impacts of some of the blows. Other recent boxing movies have not had the same effect, for me. I look forward to more films of this calibre.

Up there with THERE WILL BE BLOOD

[SaetreFilm · 10/10 · 13 March 2008]

This is the film Clint Eastwood wishes he could have directed. I just saw Poor Boy's Game at MoMa (March 13) and I am appalled that it is not getting a theatrical release in the US, but going straight to DVD. There is a huge market for this film in America. Clement Virgo is a brilliant director. The drama is clever, suspenseful and both Glover and Sutherland are Oscar contenders! The young Ross Sutherland holds his own against the always-amazing Glover, and some of the most epic movie moments of 2007 is when they have their "talk" overlooking the ocean towards the end of the film. The movie has everything (crime, suspense, sex, redemption, class and race conflict, romance, boxing) without becoming predictable and the final 20 minutes are so worth it! Not the mention the music by Byron Wong. Just amazing. LINDA SAETRE

Great Movie!!!!

[swabbab88 · 10/10 · 17 December 2007]

When i starting watching this movie i expected very little so i didn't have my hopes. I was so wrong!!! This movie is really good. It tackles a lot of issues has a really good storyline and is very touching.

It's the sort of film that you watch and think anything is possible and you really should judge people. If you haven't seen this movie you really should. I'm not going to say it's the best movie in the world but is it worth watching YES!!

The plot is really good and the acting is also really good. From the time the movie started i was hooked. I wanted to know what had happened and how it was going to end. I can't compare it to any other movie because it's like no other movie i've seen. The start has a touch of American History X i guess you could say.

I give this movie 8 out of 10

Worth watching!!

An alright film, but feels a bit safe

[notevenbroful · 8/10 · 26 November 2010]

I liked this movie. I think it's fairly good, but my main complaint is that it feels like a very "safe" drama, in that normally when the end credits roll in a normal drama, you have a very strong emotion that sticks with you for hours or even days on end. You definitely do not get that from this movie.

I picked this movie up for $2.50 and I was pleasantly surprised at it. The acting was fairly good, the plot was nice, and it carried some strong topics throughout that I think might be easy to relate to if you have background knowledge of the city of Halifax; however, I don't, and maybe that's why this movie didn't feel as powerful to me.

To my point on a "safe" drama, my complaint is this: the tension is there, but its delivered very softly. Most of the film draws on the animosity between the various characters; there's about four main characters, and all of them have strong feelings towards each other. But its strange; you learn the backgrounds and expect strong bonds, but they're not given directly with that strong power. It's like the film is saying "we told you their relations, just take our word for it, we don't have to show it". The other thing is the ending. I'm not going to give anything away, but after sitting through the entire film I felt it was trying to deliver a message, but I simply could not understand what it was. They were trying to deliver the moral without dialogue, but I think it just couldn't be done.

Overall, I'd say check it out. Maybe it's a film where the message you create; who knows? 8/10.

great film

[djpencil123 · 8/10 · 18 December 2007]

i just watched this movie , and have to say its gripping stuff , very moody and dark at times , the actors in this movie are outstanding , Danny glovers performance really stole the show for me , i never really rated Danny glover before as most of the movies he has done really didn't stand out as being great performances , but in this movie he shows real emotion , the lead role that rossif Sutherland portrays is also of note, the film really moved me , i really enjoyed it, the only downside for me really came at the end of the film when Charles enters the ring and the fight stops , i found that cheesy but it didn't ruin the film at all , plus what was Corey from trailer park boys doing in the film playing a bouncer !! in the words of bubbles hes got gangly alien arms , he must of been wearing some padding for it !!

Awesome completely moving

[ryanchaffey · 10/10 · 25 December 2007]

I was thinking first when i started this movie that it was some crappy low budget flick but it turned out to be one of my favorites it tells the story of how a man with a rough youth can go from a cold hearted scum bag to someone completely reformed and empathetic it is a touching movie and it moves along at a very good pace building up to the climax where the too men step into the ring i would like to see more titles like this and i will definitely be looking to purchase this some time, and the fact that it was filmed in my hometown is kind of cool too it really helps to relate to the movie, all in all i would give this movie a ten out of ten.. it is one of those that you want to see over and over again

a true best kept secret

[ccelik · 9/10 · 30 January 2012]

this is my first review. I felt so compelled to write this after I saw the ridiculously low rating attributed to this fine movie.

I must say that I am not easily impressed by movies.I am sure this movie did not have the budget to advertise itself to masses, or hire more recognized actors. However, I was very much moved by the acting, well- polished storyline with great and believable twists, and a satisfying end. For comparison, even though I like Clint Eastwood related movies a lot, and I enjoyed Million Dollar Baby, this one is way better in almost all aspects.It has a great after-taste as well, leaves you high spirited with more hopes for peace of the mankind.

The straight story on Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

[charlytully · 9/10 · 26 April 2009]

There's a 90 per cent chance that a movie filmed in Canada will pretend that it is taking place in the U.S., as a crass attempt to garner more box office or rental bucks. If there are black people in the film, the odds of this sort of cultural counterfeiting goes up to 95 per cent. Therefore, I gave POOR BOYS GAME a rating bonus point for honesty, as it was set where (except for the Hamilton, ON, Canada sound stage scenes) it was actually filmed. Its portrayal of poor white racist Canadians, racial brawls, and chip-on-the-shoulder minorities was very convincing, and the DVD "bonus" musical video "Africville" (performed by Black Union) about the 121-year-old Campbell Road\Seaview black section of Halifax, including the United Baptist Church, which was bull-dozed by Canadian rough riders in the middle of the night in 1969 is a rap lament which ranks up there with anything by Woody Guthrie or Joan Baez as far as protest songs go.