We’ve seen one trailer for Jake Gyllenhaal’s latest, boxing drama **Southpaw. But if you skipped it, worried that it gave too much away, maybe you’ll be safer with this shorter second effort.
Gyllenhaal is Billy Hope, the reigning junior middleweight boxing champ whose trademark “Southpaw” stance is a brutal, powerful style of fighting. He’s driven by an ever-present need for fame, money and love even while blessed with a wonderful family in Rachel McAdams as his wife Maureen and Clare Foley as daughter Alice. But then tragedy strikes and he faces losing everything. He’ll have to start punching his weight, and not just in the ring. Can he make a comeback?
Hope is a role that was originally written – by Sons Of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter – with Eminem in mind. But while he dropped out of the lead to focus on music (he’s overseen the soundtrack and you can hear his main tune for the film below), Gyllenhaal packed on the pounds of muscle to tackle the role himself. With Forest Whitaker, Naomie Harris, Tyrese Gibson and Beau Knapp in the cast, Southpaw will hit UK cinemas on July 24.