The Featherweight

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The Featherweight

2024,

1h 39m,

Biography/

Drama/

Sports

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Watchlist

81%

16 Reviews

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Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

16 Reviews

Popcornmeter

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.

Clint Worthington

RogerEbert.com

Sep 20, 2024

3/4

“The Featherweight” elevates its been-there story of middle-aged guys chasing their glory days with some smart, unexpected performances and a genuinely intriguing aesthetic frame.

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Richard Brody

The New Yorker

Sep 19, 2024

Kolodny has rounded up an extraordinarily committed cast of actors, whose mannerisms and inflections are sharpened and roughened, tuned and inflected to feel like archeological rediscoveries of behaviors past.

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Lisa Kennedy

New York Times

Sep 19, 2024

“The Featherweight” isn’t a knockout. But it does land more than a glancing blow.

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Mark Jackson

Epoch Times

Oct 5, 2024

2.5/5

Valiant effort by first-time director Robert Kolodny is marred by intrusive mockumentary device, mostly unlikable characters, and slow pacing.

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Jeff Ewing

Collider

Oct 2, 2024

8/10

In Robert and Adam Kolodny's hands, The Featherweight uses the technique well to capture intimate moments while making the crew a character when it serves the film's dramatic purposes.

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Sumner Forbes

Film Threat

Sep 28, 2024

8.5/10

The mockumentary style of Kolodny’s film may be lost on some viewers, but even going in blind on boxing and its rich role in cinema’s history, everyone should find something to love in The Featherweight.

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Robert Kolodny

Director

James Madio

Willie Pep

Ruby Wolf

Linda Papaleo

Keir Gilchrist

Actor

Ron Livingston

Actor

Stephen Lang

Actor

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Synopsis

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.

Director: Robert Kolodny
Producer: Bennett Elliott, Robert Greene, Asger Hussain
Screenwriter: Steve Loff
Distributor: Tribeca Films
Production Co: Pep Films, Appian Way, Blisspoint Entertainment, Golden Ratio Films Pvt Ltd
Genre: Biography, Drama, Sports
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 20, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 13, 2025
Runtime: 1h 39m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1

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