12 Round Gun (2017) Movie Script
[bell rings]
[sports commentator] And so,
we move into round number nine,
and the referee brings them together
here at the start of the round
telling them that it's got
to be cleaner than it is.
And Romano points towards
Nord as if to say,
"He's the man employing
the dirty tactics here".
The dark eyes say they know...
an exchange of jabs,
right at the start of this the...
ninth round of a scheduled 12.
Romano is on the front foot
trying to force Nord
back to the ropes
directly above us here.
Potentially just 12 minutes now for
Nord to turn this contest back his way.
He leans in, the long rangy left jab,
and two more, and a third one now,
trying to find the range
for that follow-up right hand.
It has to be said that
only once or twice has he landed
with real venom here,
but he has been getting through.
Another right hand from Joe Romano,
and still Nord doesn't see it coming.
And still it stalls him. And still
it forces him onto the back foot.
Now he set this count, he went
to the center of the ring.
Right hand from Romano gets through. And for
the umpteenth time, can he get on the ropes?
And a left hand this time from Joe
Romano, but Nord takes the hit.
At what point
will Romano become demoralized?
Now Nord lands a left hook,
it's Romano that's in trouble.
Romano is holding on.
Romano is swaying.
It's Romano's legs that are
wobbly now. It's Romano's legs
that are unsteady.
And Nord is on the attack.
He's taking some heavy shots
again in the round,
and there's four to level
and he has ninety to go.
Joe Romano is on the back foot.
Nord is getting clumsy.
Right hand. Left hook. Big right hand from
Nord, and a left hook, and a right hand.
Joe Romano
is in desperate trouble.
And the referee, the referee's
saying... He waves it all off.
Joe Romano protests, at the midway
section of the ninth round.
Joe Romano cannot believe it.
A flurry of punches
on the ropes just above us.
Where Kim Nord looked
to be losing this fight
he produced a warrior instinct
[indistinct]
Around this arena
Kim Nord has held him off.
[sports commentator] Maybe he was
looking at various... [indistinct]
Justo. Justo. Justo. Right? Right?
He's a killer, right? He's a killer.
What's up, man? What's up? How you doing?
Yeah, yeah, we missed it, missed it.
Argh! Boom!
What's up with that kick ass truck, man?
You got a scratch all over that thing.
- I got it in the parking lot.
- What's up man? Argh! Dude, I...
Let me fix it for you right now while
you watch the fight. What do you say?
- No, we're good, we're good.
- Come on baby.
No, you can't take
your hot ass girl out
with your whip
looking all busted up.
Come on.
I'll fix it for you, what's up?
Yo, let me... I'll tell you what, I'll
send that bad boy down right now,
I'll add some wax, some primer
and some paint, boom!
Maybe next time, J, alright?
Peace.
Fucking pussy.
[rap music]
[exchange of punches]
[door knocking]
[door knocking]
- You're not welcome here, Joe.
- Don't fuck with me, Freddie.
- There you go.
- No, no. Finish out with the left.
- Finish out with the left.
- Hey Joe, you got to go, man.
- Joe, come on, Joe. Joe, Joe.
- Don't, don't, fucking touch me.
Hey, hey, hey, hey. Hey.
Hey, look at me, look at me,
look at me, look at me.
Right here, at my eyes. Right there.
Tonight's my night, OK?
- I know. I know, I'm helping you.
- No, you're not helping me.
OK, you wanna help?
You've got to help yourself.
You're a drunk, Dad.
You're a drunk.
[sighs]
Let's go.
[door closes]
[huffing]
Look at this fucker go.
Probably could win without it.
- Boom. You're a bad man.
- Sit down, campen.
These hands are going
to make you and me rich.
These hands, are going
to put jewels on your wife.
You've been training for this,
your whole life, baby.
Your whole life.
12 rounds... and bang!
You're the champion. Huh?
Feel it.
It's gonna kill him.
Yes! It's gonna kill him...
[announcer]
Ladies and gentlemen,
tonight's fight features some
of boxing's brightest stars.
Ladies and gentlemen,
hailing from Los Angeles,
with a record of 16 wins,
zero losses,
Tommy "Gun" Romano.
[Gary]
Yes, Tommy. Come on, Tommy.
- I think he looks incredible, don't you?
- Yeah, perfect.
- Come on, Tommy, atta boy.
- [commentator] In this ring tonight,
- something's in the air tonight.
- That's right.
Something's in the air tonight.
You better believe it.
- He will.
- He definitely can feel the tension. Look at Miguel!
- Look at this!
- Sorry, I can't watch this.
- I'm going now. I just...
- Oh, no. Oh, baby.
I understand,
I used to be like that with Joe.
[commentator] See the smile on
Trinidad's face, Jim, right there?
Like I'm saying. It's easier when
you [indistinct] and all that.
Hey! There we go, boy.
And hailing from Cuba
via the Bronx,
with a record
of 22 wins and only one loss,
Miguel Justo!
[bell rings]
[crowd chanting]
Justo. Justo. Justo.
Girls, I want a clean fight.
I want you to obey
my commands at all times.
Touch them up.
[crowd cheering]
[crowd chanting]
Justo, Justo, Justo.
[bell rings]
[ominous music]
[commentator] See that kid's tough,
he can take a punch, can't he?
[commentator] He's a little machine, he's an
animal, but with this kind of punches, Jim.
[commentator 2] Justo is too
much for Tommy at this point.
[crowd cheering]
[bell rings]
Hey, that's it.
[announcer] He's gonna be sat.
You gotta be first, baby. You've been
waiting way too long for this cap.
You have
a different angle, alright?
Come on, baby, you've got to move
your feet. You're killing me.
Be first, be first, alright.
Hold the jab. Jab after jab.
Spit. Come on.
What's up?
- You know...
- Ticket, please?
Ticket? I don't need a fucking ticket,
that's my fucking son in there.
- Sir, why don't you relax. Don't do anything stupid, alright?
- OK.
- No ticket, no entry.
- Alright. OK.
OK, good.
Everything is going
just the way we want it to be.
Hmm?
You kill this gringo,
you understand me?
[bell rings]
Good.
[huffing]
[indistinct]
- That's right, that's right, that's right.
- Shove him inside over there.
[huffing]
Break!
[bell rings]
[exhales]
[heart beats]
[muffled voice] Tommy, Tommy.
OK. Yeah. Yep, OK. Now.
[distant noise]
[answering machine] Hey, you've
reached, Tommy, leave your messages.
[rock music]
Fucking, man. Fucking, man.
Fucking damn it, man.
- Jimmy? Jimmy, what's up, man?
- Yeah, how you doing, Joey?
- What's up, baby?
- I don't know, you look like fucking shit.
Yes, so do you, man.
Fucking ass hole.
Come on, baby, come on.
What's up, man? What's up, man?
What's up, man? Come on baby,
come on. Yeah, come on.
- It's been a long time, man.
- Yeah.
- How's, Tommy?
- He's good.
[engine revving]
He's good, he's good. When I walked up, I saw
you had this big old scratch right here.
Why don't you let me
fix this for you?
Come on, Joey? You're not
gonna try to hustle a hustler?
No, no, listen, I need them...
I need $40, man. I need $40. OK?
You know how it is.
You know what I'm saying?
Really? This, this is
what it's come to for you?
No, listen, no man, no. I got my own spot,
I got a junkyard on 45th and Pico, OK?
Alright, well, maybe I'll
come by. Maybe we'll fix that.
- I got to get some...
- Hold on, hold on, hold on.
- I'll fix this, right now for you, man.
- Right now?
- Yeah. I need the money, Jimmy.
- I think... No, no.
They ain't gonna let you
do that here, man.
What are you talking about?
I've got my tools in my car.
I'm gonna fucking add some
black, some primer paint, boom.
And I'll fix this right now.
Come on, Jimmy? Come on, Jimmy?
- Come on, man?
- Alright, alright. On one condition.
- Name it.
- Yeah?
Yeah?
You get yourself straight.
I'm talking about
from right now, right now.
Jimmy, don't play me
for a fucking child, man.
- Don't play that...
- No, hey, hey. I'm serious.
From right now, this moment,
you get on the path. Yes or no?
From this moment on,
you're straight?
OK, deal. Deal, deal.
I need to get my tools.
I'm going to get my tools.
- Take me ten minutes. Ten minutes.
- Ten minutes?
- Yeah.
- Alright.
- Let me do it.
- Yeah.
- I got to call.
- Alright.
- I'll be over here.
- Ten minutes, Jimmy.
- Yeah, uh-hm.
- I love you, man.
Yo, Jimmy?
Come look at this, man.
- That's it?
- Yeah.
- That's it? What is that?
- That's wax.
- I got to let that set.
- No, what is that job, man? I mean...
- You... What?
- That's a half ass job if I ever saw one.
- That's not half ass.
- Well, it ain't done.
- Yes, it is.
- Joe, there is...
There's two kinds
of people in this world. Right?
There's the hedonists
and then there's the stoics.
The hedonists, they'll do whatever
he can fucking do to feel good.
Stoic does what is right,
no matter how he feels.
I don't know what the fuck
you just said, OK?
But that's damn good
for a street job.
It's my point exactly.
You've got some bull shit excuse
for everything you do.
And you've probably lived your whole
life like that as far as I know.
You know, I like you, man.
I always have, but...
You got your head stuck so far up
your ass you can't even see straight.
You need help.
I don't know where
you're going to get it.
You better get it. Thanks.
[wistful music]
Fuck you, man. Fuck you, Jimmy.
[muffled voice] Tommy.
Tommy, can you hear me?
[doctor] Condition to the globe trauma and
we were able to reattach it with the one...
[doctor] Unfortunately by the time
we were able to operate, it was...
- What exactly are you saying?
- The prognosis for Tommy's vision is not good.
It will be less than the legal limit for
blindness if he has any sight at all.
[Sarah] Baby, please,
say something.
[hip hop music]
[indistinct]
What are you smoking?
Give me this shit.
This shit, ship right up
to your fucking ass.
- What the fuck is this shit?
- Fuck all, y'all.
[techno music]
- Oh, I don't know.
- Shit out this, my nigga.
- That old nigga is dead.
- Hell, yes.
- What the fuck, nigga?
- We are old.
- What the hell you think you're doing against my truck, man?
- OK, OK, OK, man.
- Listen, look. Alright.
- Yo, this motherfucker.
Look, I just want...
You got a big...
- What the fuck, yo?
- Oh, yeah!
You ain't getting to drive
my truck, man.
- What the fuck you know about a car?
- You gonna stop this shit.
- [man] You got no license, man.
- [man 2] Nigga, fuck you.
Yo, yo, fellas, chill.
- He said chill.
- He said chill.
- Chill, fellas.
- Pull it out.
Listen, I know cars, man, I can
fix this for you in like...
like, 15 minutes, 40 bucks.
Come, what do you say?
Listen, you gonna let your badass beast
of a truck sit here all fucked up?
Come on, let me fix this for you. You
can't have a big old scratch right here?
- You know what I mean?
- What the fuck, niggas, you crazy?
Shut the fuck up, sissy,
you don't know shit about cars.
Come on, let's see you do it.
Aye, aye, don't you got,
like a, Triple A or some shit?
Um, Triple A don't fix this,
fuck nuts.
- No, I don't have Triple A.
- Shawn, motherfucker. He called you, fuck nuts.
- Shit your momma, niggas.
- My momma?
Alright, deal homie.
Do your thing.
- Are you serious, motherfucker?
- That's right. I'm gonna get my tools? That's right.
You serious, man?
The motherfucker look like
a heartbreak monkey and you wanna
trust him with your truck?
- What the fuck is wrong with ya?
- That's why I keep shitting my kids name, niggas.
Shit just like this happens.
Hmm. Yeah, motherfucker.
I still can't believe this shit.
- Sit down, man.
- Hurry the fuck up, man. We ain't got all day.
Oh, my. I ain't got
all motherfucking day, bro.
- Don't get me like that, nigga.
- It's going to be the biggest fucking black to seven.
He dropped the motherfucking
ball. That's a bullshit.
- Yeah.
- That's a bullshit.
That nigga...
- Alright, ladies.
- Yo! This nigga can fix a car.
Damn, this nigga
really do know cars.
Hey, what's your name?
Are you Michael Shoemaker?
Schumacher, nigga, Schumacher.
[laughing] [indistinct]
Fuck y'all, dudes.
Hold up, hold up.
Where's my $40?
You thought, you could hustle us, huh?
How I know you didn't destruct
my car while I was inside, huh?
Not a bad scam.
[homie] Alright, Shawn. Leave that
faggot ass Shoemaker alone. Let's go.
Hold on. I fixed your truck,
give me my 40 bucks.
I didn't tell you do shit,
homie. You asked out.
- Hey!
- Oh shit.
- Now we're even.
- Shit.
- Fuck you, you owe me!
- Shoot his ass, fuck. Go ahead.
Here's your shit, man.
Fuck!
[overlapping talk]
Come on, let's go.
Ah! Shit. Fuck.
[huffing]
Get him! Get him, man.
Get him. Damn!
Now, hold on, and just let
me know if you feel anything.
- OK.
- Alright?
- I'm all good.
- OK.
How does it look, Doc?
Uh, the stitches are actually quite good.
There's only very minimal scarring.
- OK.
- So, we're gonna do a vision test now, Tommy.
All I need you to do is let me
know when you see the light.
OK? Just let me know when
you see the light.
I got nothing. Maybe my... Maybe my
eyes are just adjusting or something.
Uh.
- Sorry, Tommy, I'm just gonna take a couple of those.
- OK.
So... There is no perception
of visible light in either eye.
Yeah, but then... What's that?
Right now, but maybe in a week
or something I'll be good, uh?
- Tommy...
- Stressed up.
You're blind.
No, no, no. And I'm not willing
to accept that, Doctor. No way.
No, I'm really sorry, Tommy, but it is my job,
my duty, to give you the medical facts, alright?
This is... You had a long-standing
of macular detachment in both eyes.
This is... This is irreversible.
Yeah, yeah, no, Doctor,
it's not, OK?
It's not irreversible because I'm gonna
be champion of the world, alright.
I'm not gonna, not gonna
sit around being fucking blind.
I'm gonna get my eyes fixed up,
I'm gonna get my rematch,
I'm gonna win my fight,
that's what I do.
I'm a fighter, Doc.
- Good luck with that rematch, Tommy.
- Thank you.
[dialing]
- Hello.
- You have a collect call from Los Angeles County Jail,
if you'd like to accept
this call, please press one.
[beep]
Catherine.
Joe.
Listen, I need a favor, OK?
- What do you want?
- I need you to bail me out.
You're in jail?
Yeah, I got jumped, OK?
It was self-defense.
- Joe, are you're drinking again?
- What does that matter?
I just need to know.
Are you drinking again?
Listen, I'm gonna pay you back, OK?
Give me a little bit of time.
- Alright?
- This isn't about the money, Joe.
It's always about
the money with you.
I cannot handle
your bullshit right now.
Goddammit!
I have to go take care of Tommy.
What happened to Tommy?
Catherine,
what happened to Tommy?
[sobbing]
- Catherine, what the fuck happened to Tommy?
- He's blind.
Tommy is... Tommy is blind.
[Catherine sobbing]
I'll talk to Gary.
[ominous music]
Tommy, Tommy, did you plan
to beat him in that last fight?
What do you plan on doing
now that your career is over?
Who said my career is over? I'll fight
tonight if you get me a rematch.
So, you're planning to return to
boxing, Tommy? In what capacity?
Full capacity. Full capacity.
To quote the great Jack Dempsey:
"A true champion is someone
who gets up when they can't."
[crowd shouting]
OK, guys.
Come on, fighter. Yeah, come on.
[motorcycle revving]
[distant boxing sounds]
[sirens]
[ominous music]
[phone ringing]
[knocking on door]
[phone ringing]
- Joe.
- I came to see Tommy.
Hi, OK. He's sleep... Hey, Joe.
- Joe. He's sleeping right now.
- Where is he? Is he up?
I unders... I understand.
He's sleeping right now.
I need to see him.
OK, why... He doesn't... Joe,
he doesn't want to see anyone.
- No?
- No. Why don't you just go, clean yourself up
and you can stop by tomorrow.
- No, no, I need to see him. No, I need to see him.
- Joe, please don't... Joe!
Tommy!
- I'm so fucked.
- Joe, get away from me.
Listen, listen. Are you OK?
- Get away from me. Joe, stop!
- No, listen to me.
Listen to me, listen to me,
listen to me. Are you OK?
- That was an accident. That was an accident.
- Joe, please, get out. Get out!
I did... I didn't mean to do that. That
was not what... I didn't... I can't...
Get out of my house.
Hey! Get out.
- I'm gonna wait outside, I'm waiting outside.
- Yeah, hey. Goodbye, Joe.
- I'm gonna wait outside. Tell Tommy I'm waiting outside.
- Goodbye, Joe.
[ominous music]
[door opens]
[indistinct]
He says you'll have to go,
you have to go.
Joe, you can't show up like
this, so you'll have to leave.
It's the way it is.
- What? What?
- It's the way it is.
- Don't fucking touch me.
- Alright, go! Get the fuck out of here, don't piss me off.
I'm fucking gone. Hey, I'm not your
fucking stray fucking dog, OK?
OK. You can't even fucking shut
your own trillion dollar door.
[mechanical clanking]
[dog barking]
[groaning]
Hey, Joe, you got to go, man.
You look like fucking shit.
[Sarah] You can't show up
like this. So you have to leave.
[Freddie]
You are not welcome here, Joe.
[Jimmy] This is what
it's come to for you?
[Tommy] You're a drunk, Dad.
You are a drunk.
Are you drinking again?
[Sarah]
Go, get the fuck out of here!
You piss me off.
Joe, get away from me.
[Gary] Oh my God. We're good.
[Sarah] Get out of here.
[Shawn] You asked out.
You got your head
stuck so far up
your ass you can't
even see straight.
[Jimmy] You need help.
I don't know where you're gonna
get it, but you better get it.
[techno music]
[distant sirens]
- [screaming]
- Oh, God.
Aw!
Oh, shit, Tommy.
- Oh, man, you scared me.
- Gary?
- You... you OK?
- Yeah. You're OK?
- Tommy.
- Oh, yeah.
- What happened?
- Nothing, nothing.
I... I was just getting some fresh air,
Gary here started screaming like a lunatic.
[laughs]
That's... that's me, Tommy,
that's me. I'm a lunatic.
I want you to put
that thing away.
I don't I wanna even
see it in the house anymore.
- You alright?
- Yes.
Hey, hey, hey, what's going on?
Nothing. Hey, I was just getting some
water, OK? Just go to sleep, OK?
OK.
- What were you doing?
- [chuckles]
Tommy, if you're having trouble
you got let me help you.
You got to stop
worrying about me, OK?
I'm fine,
I'm fine. Let's go to sleep.
I was just getting some air,
it's OK, alright?
- OK.
- Gary is a crazy lunatic.
- Hey.
- Where you've been?
- I just felt the kick.
- What?
- Yeah.
- [laughs]
- Did you feel that? Yeah?
- Yeah, I felt it.
- Alright.
- I think, that was a right hand.
I know, he must have been
hitting a heavy bag in there.
Yeah, he's getting ready. He's doing his fight
camp in there, ready to come out, you know.
A champion just like me.
[laughs] My boy.
Come on, let's go to sleep.
Yo, Darien.
Yo, Darien.
Darien.
Darien, where are you, buddy?
Darien.
Darien.
Where are you, buddy?
Oh, fuck.
- [??] Mia Romano, I like it.
- It's a boy.
I think I like Axel.
Axel Romano.
A strong name.
God, what a name, Axel.
I like it.
Come on.
Come on, don't you just wanna
say it, like all the time. Axel.
- Axel, Axel. [Giggles]
- OK, OK.
Ah. [Giggles]
Oh, uhm...
I think something's happening.
Are you OK?
I think my water just broke.
[Joe] That's it,
that's it, jab, jab.
One, two. One, two, three.
That's it.
One, two, three, add a hook.
There you go.
You're like a Tommygun.
What's a Tommygun, Daddy?
It's a super powerful gun.
You know what, that's
what I'm going to call you.
Ladies and gentlemen,
the undisputed,
undefeated heavyweight
champion of the world,
Tommy "Gun" Romano.
Hi, the umbilical cord was wrapped around the
baby's neck cutting off the oxygen supply,
but we managed to stabilize
everything and she's fine.
Oh, my God. [Chuckles]
Oh, thank you.
Thank you.
You're welcome. It'll be OK.
- Thank you very much. Thank you.
- You're welcome.
Hi. [Laughter]
- Is she sleeping?
- OK, OK.
Oh my god.
- Oh, hi. Look at her. Oh my god, she's beautiful.
- Congratulations.
Thank you.
I didn't do much. It was her.
- Congratulations. She's so pretty. Oh my god.
- Thank you.
Maybe you can give us a minute?
- Yeah, yeah, of course.
- Thank you, guys.
OK, OK.
I'm gonna get some coffee, OK?
Thank you.
Hey.
- Wow.
- She looks just like her daddy.
- Does she really?
- Well, I mean kind of?
- Wow. I love you.
- I love you too.
Come here.
Ahem.
- Feel my heart?
- [chuckles]
We did good.
- This is nice, huh?
- Uh-hum.
- I love you so much.
- I love you too, babe.
[ominous music]
[ominous music]
[ominous music intensifying]
- Hey, your family is right here on the right.
- Oh, it is?
- Right here.
- Some proud grandparents.
Hey, buddy.
Hey, Gary, I was hoping maybe
you could give me a lift home?
- Yeah, yeah, of course.
- Everything alright?
Yeah, yeah, yes. Everything's fine.
I'm just exhausted. A long night.
I understand.
Alright, I'm going to
stay with Sarah and the baby.
OK.
- I love you so much. I'm so proud of you.
- I love you too.
- Thank you so much.
- OK. Right shoulder, buddy.
- Alright, yes.
- Here we go.
- Gary, your phone.
- Yes.
Please remember
to bring mine back.
It's charging in the kitchen.
- Trust me, I won't forget.
- Alright.
- OK, bye.
- Bye.
- See you soon.
- I love you.
I love you.
[ominous music]
- [Tommy] Home sweet home.
- [Gary] Home sweet home.
Where you at, Gary? [Laughs]
- I'm right here. Found me?
- Yes, where you at?
- I got you.
- Alright, we're gonna step down, kiddo.
- OK.
- Got it?
- Yeah, I'm good.
- OK, good.
- One more, big guy.
- You're like my seeing eye dog, you know.
I'll call you Bruno or
something from now on.
OK, I'll go with that.
Alright, right here, big guy,
right here.
- We have a couch?
- Yes, just have a sit.
Oh, yes. Thank you.
Alright, buddy, well, I'll come back
and get you whenever you're ready, OK?
- Sounds good.
- Alright.
- Oh, and pal?
- Yeah?
- You're a dad.
- It's crazy.
It's awesome.
- See you, buddy.
- We'll see you.
[engine starting
car driving away]
[suspenseful music]
[announcer]
Ladies and gentlemen,
hailing from Los Angeles,
with a record of 16 wins,
zero losses,
Tommy "Gun" Romano.
[crowd cheering]
[bell ringing]
[punching sounds]
[crowd cheering]
[car honking]
Oh, shit. Fuck.
Why can't you just
keep your phone on you, honey?
[dramatic music]
[dramatic music intensifies]
Hi.
Where's Tommy?
- Hey, Joe.
- Hey.
- What's going on?
- What's up?
Nothing much. Just uh...
- Where's Tommy?
- He's just sleeping. Sleeping.
OK, wake him up.
Time to roll up.
- [Joe] Now wake him up.
- [Gary][indistinct]
Fuck you. Don't fucking
look at me like that.
- Don't fuck...
- No, just relax don't...
Don't fucking
look at me like that.
I'll roll you right now...
[gunshot]
Tommy!
Tommy. Tommy. Tommy.
Tommy, are you there?
Tommy. Tommy. Tommy!
Tommy! No!
[crying]
No, no! What did you do?
What did you do?
What did you do?
What did you do?
[crying]
Come back, please.
[crying]
[somber music]
[crying]
[knock on door]
[knock on door]
- [Joe] Please open up, Jimmy.
- Is that Joey?
Yeah, it's me.
- Joey, it's late I'm...
- Can you please open?
[Jimmy] I said you needed help, but
I didn't say I was gonna do it.
[throwing up]
Let it out.
Let it all out. Don't hold back.
You gotta get every drop in there,
otherwise you're gonna be cleaning it up.
Here you go.
[Joey] Oh...
It's good.
[throwing up]
[indistinct]
[gunshot]
[nightmare noises]
OK, man, this is chicken broth.
You have to get it down.
That's good.
- Now help feed yourself, come on.
- Yes.
Let me make something crystal
fucking clear to you right now.
I'm not doing this for you.
This is for me.
This is God's will.
He's working through me.
I'm just the messenger here
and this is your God's shot.
- I don't deserve any another shot.
- [baby talk]
Now you're
majorly whisking this.
This is just about to make me vomit.
Why don't you just man up?
I know that you've got what they call
fisher king wound and you've got in spades.
You don't even know
what happened.
You know, I don't give
a fuck what happened.
What's important is
what are you gonna do about it?
You know what happens to other
motherfuckers like us who drink?
We are rendered female.
And the alcohol just knocks the logical
mind right out of our fucking heads.
When we turn into blubbering little
wussies, just like you are now.
"Oh, why did the whole world do
this to me, who did this to me."
Why? I can't do that.
"I couldn't get,
couldn't do this."
Like what do you got?
A fucking vagina in there?
Fuck you.
Yeah, fuck me.
Yeah, fuck me, right.
No, fuck you.
Do something about yourself.
As I said to you before,
you got to do good to feel good.
You don't go out, get all fucking
high and feel good to do good.
That don't work bro, not at all.
It's spiritual teachings
of Marcus Aurelius.
- You read it?
- No.
How... Why does that surprise me?
If it isn't true, don't say it.
If it's not right, don't do it.
Maybe, you ought to
get that tattooed
on your skinny
little fucking chest.
Oh, it's called an alchemical
process, by the way.
You have to burn from the inside
to the outside to get to the gold.
Reading ain't gonna fix this.
You know, motherfucker,
I got news for you.
You came to me.
You showed up on my doorstep.
You got me involved.
Now you're in country.
You're in Vietnam,
you're little soldier boy
who's gonna start to fucking
step, right now. Right now!
Boom. Wake up.
Fucker. Candy ass twerk.
- [Giggles]
- Better keep it tight.
[groans]
- There you go.
- With the left.
One, two, yeah.
[groaning]
Argh! Ah!
Oh!
[jazz music]
- You play against yourself?
- Yeah.
If you do not conquer self, you
will be conquered by yourself.
Napoleon Hill,
he's on the shelf.
- Wanna play?
- Does a bear shit in the woods?
- Oh, you're an asshole?
- Yeah, come on.
Really? OK, bring it.
[indistinct]
Alright.
Choose your side.
No, Joey, choose your side.
What? I just did.
What does it matter?
OK, it doesn't matter?
Yeah.
You just ain't getting it,
are you?
[sigh]
Do you wanna fucking
play chess or what?
Yeah, I'll play you
when you're ready.
- I am ready.
- No, you ain't.
"Law: The Universe will give
back action for action..."
[whispering]
Here we must look one step ahead
and guard against the danger
of accepting surrender
as a sort of...
I'm out of here.
Yeah? Where are you gonna go?
- It doesn't matter.
- [chuckles] Wow, man.
Do you know there has been a real
shift in your consciousness?
Whether you believe that or not.
You've got nine days sober
as of today.
Nine days, yeah?
Did you know that?
- Yeah.
- Nine days, not bad.
You could be a potent person.
You might even
deserve another shot.
Maybe.
But I don't think
your balls have dropped yet.
You know what? You know what? Who
the fuck do you think you are
talking to me like that? Huh?
I'll fucking smash you right here
and nobody will even know about it.
When I let go of what I am,
I become what I might be.
[sigh]
You've cracked the code.
Cracked it wide open.
You've just got to
learn how to decipher it.
Who where I turn this.
Who where I turn this.
Who where I turn this.
It means you turn a boy...
In psychological terms, it means
an older man whose emotional life
has remained in an adolescent stage.
Sounds familiar, kiddo?
- [sigh]
- Was that a sigh?
That's good. That's the sigh
of acknowledgment.
That's good.
- I don't have anything left.
- Oh God, do you know, your lack of self confidence
is just it's...
It's putrefying, really is.
Just, you know, get off your ass
man. You know, are you a loser?
- No.
- No?
- No.
- You're not the joke that they
all think that you are?
- No.
- No? I don't believe you.
Are you willing to take action?
Are you just gonna leave here now
and go right back where you were?
Go out there cry,
feel sorry for yourself?
I'm gonna do something about it.
Yeah? OK, well, then do it.
Do the actual footwork
that is necessary.
OK.
- The rest you leave to the gods and goddesses.
- OK.
[traffic sounds]
[music beats]
[speaking Spanish
in the background]
And he said, "Todo right? I
thought you said todo fight."
[laughter]
So, since when do they let
homeless people in here, huh?
[laughing]
- You took the fucking padding off.
- What? Oh.
Hey, Joe. Can we get
you a drink?
Grab a chair. Why don't you sit?
- No, Ray, I don't drink.
- You now [speaking Spanish]?
He had some very heavy hands back
in the day. Very heavy hands.
By the way,
I'm very sorry about your loss.
Don't you fucking
play games with me, Ray.
Don't you fucking
play games with me.
They took the goddamn
padding out of those gloves.
They fucking blinded my son.
They blinded him.
They ended his career, his life.
I'm telling the whole fucking world about
it, unless you do something for me
- and you're gonna do it right now.
- And what am I supposed to do?
You're going to give me his fucking
rematch. That's what you're going to do.
- Look, I can't do that.
- Bullshit. You can do anything.
You know, you look like
you could use a few bucks.
You name it. How much?
Right here.
Really?
You sure you wanna do this?
- You got a problem here?
- I don't know, maybe.
This is Joe Romano. Tommy's dad.
- So?
- So he wants to fight you.
I'll fight him.
Wow, wow, wow. Save it for the ring. At
least, let me sell some tickets, huh?
OK, Joe, you get your fight.
You got 30 days.
That's all you got?
[radio playing]
The worse you look,
the better you are.
You look like shit.
Rome wasn't built in a day.
[Freddie] Joe, you called me
yesterday, you call me today.
Stop calling me.
[dog barking]
[Freddie] You think you lost Tommy. I
lost Tommy too. He was my son too.
Stop calling me, Joe.
Stop calling me.
Give me one good reason why
I should do this for you, Joe.
[Joe] You're not doing this for me.
You're doing this for Tommy.
[music intensifies]
Come on man. OK, OK.
[Jimmy] Joe, there's... There's two
kinds of people in this world.
There's the hedonists
and then there's the stoics.
The hedonists, they do whatever
they can fucking do to feel good.
Stoic does what's right,
no matter how it feels.
[coach] Come on!
- [Jimmy] Are you a looser?
- Six, seven.
[Jimmy] You're not the joke that
they all think that you are.
You could be important person.
You might even
deserve another shot.
Come on!
There you go.
[groans]
[roars]
[Jimmy] If you do not conquer self,
you will be conquered by yourself.
[exhales]
Thanks, Jim. I'm here with a man with the
Midas touch, also known as Mr. Ray Bruno.
Now tell me, Mr. Bruno, why would you
let a fight like this take place?
Well it's America, baby.
And if you believe in yourself,
anything's possible, huh?
Ha, ha, ha...
OK, well, if that doesn't sum it
up, what does? Jim, back to you.
Hey, Joe.
I think you should have this.
- Thank you, Jim.
- Ah.
- Wanna get me a minute alone?
- Yeah, yeah. Sure. Take your time.
[crying]
[exhales]
[Jimmy]
When I let go of what I am...
I become what I might be.
[announcer] Let's get ready for
an exciting fight tonight.
Introducing the challenger, with a
record of 17 wins and four losses.
This fighter has not stepped
in the ring in almost 20 years.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Joe Romano!
[bell rings]
[announcer] And now,
ladies and gentlemen
hailing from Cuba
via The Bronx...
[announcer] With a record of
23 wins, one loss.
- Miguel Justo!
- Justo! Justo!
[bell rings]
[crowd] Justo! Justo!
OK, guys, bring them in.
Gentlemen, you received your instructions in
the dressing room. I want a good clean fight.
Obey my commands at all times, above
all, protect yourselves at all times.
- Touch 'em up, I said touch 'em up.
- Go.
[crowd] Justo! Justo! Justo!
[bell rings]
[huffing]
[commentator] I think he's just throwing
again. I think he saw a ghost over there.
That's sweet, you know what I mean. This is,
you know... I can't take this seriously.
- Oh. Oh.
- [commentator] What a left.
[bell rings]
[exhales heavily]
[bell rings]
Come on!
What happened to Tommy?
[Catherine] I cannot handle
your bullshit right now.
It's just that I have
to go take care of Tommy.
[Joe]
Cathy, what happened to Tommy?
[gunshot]
[emotional music]
[commentator] It seems like the
progress is amateur at this point.
Yes, left, right body shots.
[laughs]
[bell rings]
Break! Break!
[Freddie] Joe, are you
a punching bag or something?
[Jimmy] Who where I turn this?
Who where I turn this?
That means an older man
whose emotional life
has remained
at an adolescent stage.
Sound familiar, kiddo?
You got to do good to feel good.
Do not give a fuck what's happened, what's
important is what are you gonna do about it.
You have to burn from the inside
to the outside
to get to the gold.
[bell rings]
[Jimmy] You've cracked
the code, cracked it wide open.
You just got to learn
how to decipher it.
[epic music]
Look at me.
What's wrong with you?
You are going to go in there
and you're going to finish him.
You understand me? Finish him.
Finish him!
[Freddie] Come on, dude. You're
blowing this fight.
Throw some punches. Work on your
body. Break him down.
You're a better fighter, man.
Look at me, look at me.
Show me something, please. Get in there.
Work this out. Come on.
[bell rings]
[crowd cheering]
- [commentator] Referee is now starting the count.
- Oh.
One, two, three,
four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine.
- You alright?
- Yeah.
- You want to continue?
- Yes.
Come on. You got
to work with your body.
You got to work it out.
You got to move your head.
Be focused.
[crowd cheering]
Fight!
- [referee] One!
- You're a drunk, Dad. You're a drunk.
[referee] Two. Three.
Argh!
Four. Five.
[laughter]
Six.
You're in Vietnam.
You're a little soldier boy
who's gonna start to fucking
step right now. Right now!
Seven.
[Jimmy] Get off your ass, man.
Are you a loser?
You're not the joke that
they all think that you are?
Eight.
[Jimmy] When I let go
of what I am,
I become what I might be.
Gloves.
You good?
- You want to go on?
- Yes.
[commentator]
Stop the fight, guys.
[commentator 2] There is blood oozing into his
eyes and down the right side of his cheek.
Right now, a moan mostly.
You two.
OK. Fight!
[crowd cheering]
Fight back,
fight back, champion. Boom!
[crowd cheering]
One...
Four. Five. Six.
[commentator] This was something
unbelievable. This is unbelievable.
[bell rings]
[crowd cheering]
[calm music]
[sports commentator] And so,
we move into round number nine,
and the referee brings them together
here at the start of the round
telling them that it's got
to be cleaner than it is.
And Romano points towards
Nord as if to say,
"He's the man employing
the dirty tactics here".
The dark eyes say they know...
an exchange of jabs,
right at the start of this the...
ninth round of a scheduled 12.
Romano is on the front foot
trying to force Nord
back to the ropes
directly above us here.
Potentially just 12 minutes now for
Nord to turn this contest back his way.
He leans in, the long rangy left jab,
and two more, and a third one now,
trying to find the range
for that follow-up right hand.
It has to be said that
only once or twice has he landed
with real venom here,
but he has been getting through.
Another right hand from Joe Romano,
and still Nord doesn't see it coming.
And still it stalls him. And still
it forces him onto the back foot.
Now he set this count, he went
to the center of the ring.
Right hand from Romano gets through. And for
the umpteenth time, can he get on the ropes?
And a left hand this time from Joe
Romano, but Nord takes the hit.
At what point
will Romano become demoralized?
Now Nord lands a left hook,
it's Romano that's in trouble.
Romano is holding on.
Romano is swaying.
It's Romano's legs that are
wobbly now. It's Romano's legs
that are unsteady.
And Nord is on the attack.
He's taking some heavy shots
again in the round,
and there's four to level
and he has ninety to go.
Joe Romano is on the back foot.
Nord is getting clumsy.
Right hand. Left hook. Big right hand from
Nord, and a left hook, and a right hand.
Joe Romano
is in desperate trouble.
And the referee, the referee's
saying... He waves it all off.
Joe Romano protests, at the midway
section of the ninth round.
Joe Romano cannot believe it.
A flurry of punches
on the ropes just above us.
Where Kim Nord looked
to be losing this fight
he produced a warrior instinct
[indistinct]
Around this arena
Kim Nord has held him off.
[sports commentator] Maybe he was
looking at various... [indistinct]
Justo. Justo. Justo. Right? Right?
He's a killer, right? He's a killer.
What's up, man? What's up? How you doing?
Yeah, yeah, we missed it, missed it.
Argh! Boom!
What's up with that kick ass truck, man?
You got a scratch all over that thing.
- I got it in the parking lot.
- What's up man? Argh! Dude, I...
Let me fix it for you right now while
you watch the fight. What do you say?
- No, we're good, we're good.
- Come on baby.
No, you can't take
your hot ass girl out
with your whip
looking all busted up.
Come on.
I'll fix it for you, what's up?
Yo, let me... I'll tell you what, I'll
send that bad boy down right now,
I'll add some wax, some primer
and some paint, boom!
Maybe next time, J, alright?
Peace.
Fucking pussy.
[rap music]
[exchange of punches]
[door knocking]
[door knocking]
- You're not welcome here, Joe.
- Don't fuck with me, Freddie.
- There you go.
- No, no. Finish out with the left.
- Finish out with the left.
- Hey Joe, you got to go, man.
- Joe, come on, Joe. Joe, Joe.
- Don't, don't, fucking touch me.
Hey, hey, hey, hey. Hey.
Hey, look at me, look at me,
look at me, look at me.
Right here, at my eyes. Right there.
Tonight's my night, OK?
- I know. I know, I'm helping you.
- No, you're not helping me.
OK, you wanna help?
You've got to help yourself.
You're a drunk, Dad.
You're a drunk.
[sighs]
Let's go.
[door closes]
[huffing]
Look at this fucker go.
Probably could win without it.
- Boom. You're a bad man.
- Sit down, campen.
These hands are going
to make you and me rich.
These hands, are going
to put jewels on your wife.
You've been training for this,
your whole life, baby.
Your whole life.
12 rounds... and bang!
You're the champion. Huh?
Feel it.
It's gonna kill him.
Yes! It's gonna kill him...
[announcer]
Ladies and gentlemen,
tonight's fight features some
of boxing's brightest stars.
Ladies and gentlemen,
hailing from Los Angeles,
with a record of 16 wins,
zero losses,
Tommy "Gun" Romano.
[Gary]
Yes, Tommy. Come on, Tommy.
- I think he looks incredible, don't you?
- Yeah, perfect.
- Come on, Tommy, atta boy.
- [commentator] In this ring tonight,
- something's in the air tonight.
- That's right.
Something's in the air tonight.
You better believe it.
- He will.
- He definitely can feel the tension. Look at Miguel!
- Look at this!
- Sorry, I can't watch this.
- I'm going now. I just...
- Oh, no. Oh, baby.
I understand,
I used to be like that with Joe.
[commentator] See the smile on
Trinidad's face, Jim, right there?
Like I'm saying. It's easier when
you [indistinct] and all that.
Hey! There we go, boy.
And hailing from Cuba
via the Bronx,
with a record
of 22 wins and only one loss,
Miguel Justo!
[bell rings]
[crowd chanting]
Justo. Justo. Justo.
Girls, I want a clean fight.
I want you to obey
my commands at all times.
Touch them up.
[crowd cheering]
[crowd chanting]
Justo, Justo, Justo.
[bell rings]
[ominous music]
[commentator] See that kid's tough,
he can take a punch, can't he?
[commentator] He's a little machine, he's an
animal, but with this kind of punches, Jim.
[commentator 2] Justo is too
much for Tommy at this point.
[crowd cheering]
[bell rings]
Hey, that's it.
[announcer] He's gonna be sat.
You gotta be first, baby. You've been
waiting way too long for this cap.
You have
a different angle, alright?
Come on, baby, you've got to move
your feet. You're killing me.
Be first, be first, alright.
Hold the jab. Jab after jab.
Spit. Come on.
What's up?
- You know...
- Ticket, please?
Ticket? I don't need a fucking ticket,
that's my fucking son in there.
- Sir, why don't you relax. Don't do anything stupid, alright?
- OK.
- No ticket, no entry.
- Alright. OK.
OK, good.
Everything is going
just the way we want it to be.
Hmm?
You kill this gringo,
you understand me?
[bell rings]
Good.
[huffing]
[indistinct]
- That's right, that's right, that's right.
- Shove him inside over there.
[huffing]
Break!
[bell rings]
[exhales]
[heart beats]
[muffled voice] Tommy, Tommy.
OK. Yeah. Yep, OK. Now.
[distant noise]
[answering machine] Hey, you've
reached, Tommy, leave your messages.
[rock music]
Fucking, man. Fucking, man.
Fucking damn it, man.
- Jimmy? Jimmy, what's up, man?
- Yeah, how you doing, Joey?
- What's up, baby?
- I don't know, you look like fucking shit.
Yes, so do you, man.
Fucking ass hole.
Come on, baby, come on.
What's up, man? What's up, man?
What's up, man? Come on baby,
come on. Yeah, come on.
- It's been a long time, man.
- Yeah.
- How's, Tommy?
- He's good.
[engine revving]
He's good, he's good. When I walked up, I saw
you had this big old scratch right here.
Why don't you let me
fix this for you?
Come on, Joey? You're not
gonna try to hustle a hustler?
No, no, listen, I need them...
I need $40, man. I need $40. OK?
You know how it is.
You know what I'm saying?
Really? This, this is
what it's come to for you?
No, listen, no man, no. I got my own spot,
I got a junkyard on 45th and Pico, OK?
Alright, well, maybe I'll
come by. Maybe we'll fix that.
- I got to get some...
- Hold on, hold on, hold on.
- I'll fix this, right now for you, man.
- Right now?
- Yeah. I need the money, Jimmy.
- I think... No, no.
They ain't gonna let you
do that here, man.
What are you talking about?
I've got my tools in my car.
I'm gonna fucking add some
black, some primer paint, boom.
And I'll fix this right now.
Come on, Jimmy? Come on, Jimmy?
- Come on, man?
- Alright, alright. On one condition.
- Name it.
- Yeah?
Yeah?
You get yourself straight.
I'm talking about
from right now, right now.
Jimmy, don't play me
for a fucking child, man.
- Don't play that...
- No, hey, hey. I'm serious.
From right now, this moment,
you get on the path. Yes or no?
From this moment on,
you're straight?
OK, deal. Deal, deal.
I need to get my tools.
I'm going to get my tools.
- Take me ten minutes. Ten minutes.
- Ten minutes?
- Yeah.
- Alright.
- Let me do it.
- Yeah.
- I got to call.
- Alright.
- I'll be over here.
- Ten minutes, Jimmy.
- Yeah, uh-hm.
- I love you, man.
Yo, Jimmy?
Come look at this, man.
- That's it?
- Yeah.
- That's it? What is that?
- That's wax.
- I got to let that set.
- No, what is that job, man? I mean...
- You... What?
- That's a half ass job if I ever saw one.
- That's not half ass.
- Well, it ain't done.
- Yes, it is.
- Joe, there is...
There's two kinds
of people in this world. Right?
There's the hedonists
and then there's the stoics.
The hedonists, they'll do whatever
he can fucking do to feel good.
Stoic does what is right,
no matter how he feels.
I don't know what the fuck
you just said, OK?
But that's damn good
for a street job.
It's my point exactly.
You've got some bull shit excuse
for everything you do.
And you've probably lived your whole
life like that as far as I know.
You know, I like you, man.
I always have, but...
You got your head stuck so far up
your ass you can't even see straight.
You need help.
I don't know where
you're going to get it.
You better get it. Thanks.
[wistful music]
Fuck you, man. Fuck you, Jimmy.
[muffled voice] Tommy.
Tommy, can you hear me?
[doctor] Condition to the globe trauma and
we were able to reattach it with the one...
[doctor] Unfortunately by the time
we were able to operate, it was...
- What exactly are you saying?
- The prognosis for Tommy's vision is not good.
It will be less than the legal limit for
blindness if he has any sight at all.
[Sarah] Baby, please,
say something.
[hip hop music]
[indistinct]
What are you smoking?
Give me this shit.
This shit, ship right up
to your fucking ass.
- What the fuck is this shit?
- Fuck all, y'all.
[techno music]
- Oh, I don't know.
- Shit out this, my nigga.
- That old nigga is dead.
- Hell, yes.
- What the fuck, nigga?
- We are old.
- What the hell you think you're doing against my truck, man?
- OK, OK, OK, man.
- Listen, look. Alright.
- Yo, this motherfucker.
Look, I just want...
You got a big...
- What the fuck, yo?
- Oh, yeah!
You ain't getting to drive
my truck, man.
- What the fuck you know about a car?
- You gonna stop this shit.
- [man] You got no license, man.
- [man 2] Nigga, fuck you.
Yo, yo, fellas, chill.
- He said chill.
- He said chill.
- Chill, fellas.
- Pull it out.
Listen, I know cars, man, I can
fix this for you in like...
like, 15 minutes, 40 bucks.
Come, what do you say?
Listen, you gonna let your badass beast
of a truck sit here all fucked up?
Come on, let me fix this for you. You
can't have a big old scratch right here?
- You know what I mean?
- What the fuck, niggas, you crazy?
Shut the fuck up, sissy,
you don't know shit about cars.
Come on, let's see you do it.
Aye, aye, don't you got,
like a, Triple A or some shit?
Um, Triple A don't fix this,
fuck nuts.
- No, I don't have Triple A.
- Shawn, motherfucker. He called you, fuck nuts.
- Shit your momma, niggas.
- My momma?
Alright, deal homie.
Do your thing.
- Are you serious, motherfucker?
- That's right. I'm gonna get my tools? That's right.
You serious, man?
The motherfucker look like
a heartbreak monkey and you wanna
trust him with your truck?
- What the fuck is wrong with ya?
- That's why I keep shitting my kids name, niggas.
Shit just like this happens.
Hmm. Yeah, motherfucker.
I still can't believe this shit.
- Sit down, man.
- Hurry the fuck up, man. We ain't got all day.
Oh, my. I ain't got
all motherfucking day, bro.
- Don't get me like that, nigga.
- It's going to be the biggest fucking black to seven.
He dropped the motherfucking
ball. That's a bullshit.
- Yeah.
- That's a bullshit.
That nigga...
- Alright, ladies.
- Yo! This nigga can fix a car.
Damn, this nigga
really do know cars.
Hey, what's your name?
Are you Michael Shoemaker?
Schumacher, nigga, Schumacher.
[laughing] [indistinct]
Fuck y'all, dudes.
Hold up, hold up.
Where's my $40?
You thought, you could hustle us, huh?
How I know you didn't destruct
my car while I was inside, huh?
Not a bad scam.
[homie] Alright, Shawn. Leave that
faggot ass Shoemaker alone. Let's go.
Hold on. I fixed your truck,
give me my 40 bucks.
I didn't tell you do shit,
homie. You asked out.
- Hey!
- Oh shit.
- Now we're even.
- Shit.
- Fuck you, you owe me!
- Shoot his ass, fuck. Go ahead.
Here's your shit, man.
Fuck!
[overlapping talk]
Come on, let's go.
Ah! Shit. Fuck.
[huffing]
Get him! Get him, man.
Get him. Damn!
Now, hold on, and just let
me know if you feel anything.
- OK.
- Alright?
- I'm all good.
- OK.
How does it look, Doc?
Uh, the stitches are actually quite good.
There's only very minimal scarring.
- OK.
- So, we're gonna do a vision test now, Tommy.
All I need you to do is let me
know when you see the light.
OK? Just let me know when
you see the light.
I got nothing. Maybe my... Maybe my
eyes are just adjusting or something.
Uh.
- Sorry, Tommy, I'm just gonna take a couple of those.
- OK.
So... There is no perception
of visible light in either eye.
Yeah, but then... What's that?
Right now, but maybe in a week
or something I'll be good, uh?
- Tommy...
- Stressed up.
You're blind.
No, no, no. And I'm not willing
to accept that, Doctor. No way.
No, I'm really sorry, Tommy, but it is my job,
my duty, to give you the medical facts, alright?
This is... You had a long-standing
of macular detachment in both eyes.
This is... This is irreversible.
Yeah, yeah, no, Doctor,
it's not, OK?
It's not irreversible because I'm gonna
be champion of the world, alright.
I'm not gonna, not gonna
sit around being fucking blind.
I'm gonna get my eyes fixed up,
I'm gonna get my rematch,
I'm gonna win my fight,
that's what I do.
I'm a fighter, Doc.
- Good luck with that rematch, Tommy.
- Thank you.
[dialing]
- Hello.
- You have a collect call from Los Angeles County Jail,
if you'd like to accept
this call, please press one.
[beep]
Catherine.
Joe.
Listen, I need a favor, OK?
- What do you want?
- I need you to bail me out.
You're in jail?
Yeah, I got jumped, OK?
It was self-defense.
- Joe, are you're drinking again?
- What does that matter?
I just need to know.
Are you drinking again?
Listen, I'm gonna pay you back, OK?
Give me a little bit of time.
- Alright?
- This isn't about the money, Joe.
It's always about
the money with you.
I cannot handle
your bullshit right now.
Goddammit!
I have to go take care of Tommy.
What happened to Tommy?
Catherine,
what happened to Tommy?
[sobbing]
- Catherine, what the fuck happened to Tommy?
- He's blind.
Tommy is... Tommy is blind.
[Catherine sobbing]
I'll talk to Gary.
[ominous music]
Tommy, Tommy, did you plan
to beat him in that last fight?
What do you plan on doing
now that your career is over?
Who said my career is over? I'll fight
tonight if you get me a rematch.
So, you're planning to return to
boxing, Tommy? In what capacity?
Full capacity. Full capacity.
To quote the great Jack Dempsey:
"A true champion is someone
who gets up when they can't."
[crowd shouting]
OK, guys.
Come on, fighter. Yeah, come on.
[motorcycle revving]
[distant boxing sounds]
[sirens]
[ominous music]
[phone ringing]
[knocking on door]
[phone ringing]
- Joe.
- I came to see Tommy.
Hi, OK. He's sleep... Hey, Joe.
- Joe. He's sleeping right now.
- Where is he? Is he up?
I unders... I understand.
He's sleeping right now.
I need to see him.
OK, why... He doesn't... Joe,
he doesn't want to see anyone.
- No?
- No. Why don't you just go, clean yourself up
and you can stop by tomorrow.
- No, no, I need to see him. No, I need to see him.
- Joe, please don't... Joe!
Tommy!
- I'm so fucked.
- Joe, get away from me.
Listen, listen. Are you OK?
- Get away from me. Joe, stop!
- No, listen to me.
Listen to me, listen to me,
listen to me. Are you OK?
- That was an accident. That was an accident.
- Joe, please, get out. Get out!
I did... I didn't mean to do that. That
was not what... I didn't... I can't...
Get out of my house.
Hey! Get out.
- I'm gonna wait outside, I'm waiting outside.
- Yeah, hey. Goodbye, Joe.
- I'm gonna wait outside. Tell Tommy I'm waiting outside.
- Goodbye, Joe.
[ominous music]
[door opens]
[indistinct]
He says you'll have to go,
you have to go.
Joe, you can't show up like
this, so you'll have to leave.
It's the way it is.
- What? What?
- It's the way it is.
- Don't fucking touch me.
- Alright, go! Get the fuck out of here, don't piss me off.
I'm fucking gone. Hey, I'm not your
fucking stray fucking dog, OK?
OK. You can't even fucking shut
your own trillion dollar door.
[mechanical clanking]
[dog barking]
[groaning]
Hey, Joe, you got to go, man.
You look like fucking shit.
[Sarah] You can't show up
like this. So you have to leave.
[Freddie]
You are not welcome here, Joe.
[Jimmy] This is what
it's come to for you?
[Tommy] You're a drunk, Dad.
You are a drunk.
Are you drinking again?
[Sarah]
Go, get the fuck out of here!
You piss me off.
Joe, get away from me.
[Gary] Oh my God. We're good.
[Sarah] Get out of here.
[Shawn] You asked out.
You got your head
stuck so far up
your ass you can't
even see straight.
[Jimmy] You need help.
I don't know where you're gonna
get it, but you better get it.
[techno music]
[distant sirens]
- [screaming]
- Oh, God.
Aw!
Oh, shit, Tommy.
- Oh, man, you scared me.
- Gary?
- You... you OK?
- Yeah. You're OK?
- Tommy.
- Oh, yeah.
- What happened?
- Nothing, nothing.
I... I was just getting some fresh air,
Gary here started screaming like a lunatic.
[laughs]
That's... that's me, Tommy,
that's me. I'm a lunatic.
I want you to put
that thing away.
I don't I wanna even
see it in the house anymore.
- You alright?
- Yes.
Hey, hey, hey, what's going on?
Nothing. Hey, I was just getting some
water, OK? Just go to sleep, OK?
OK.
- What were you doing?
- [chuckles]
Tommy, if you're having trouble
you got let me help you.
You got to stop
worrying about me, OK?
I'm fine,
I'm fine. Let's go to sleep.
I was just getting some air,
it's OK, alright?
- OK.
- Gary is a crazy lunatic.
- Hey.
- Where you've been?
- I just felt the kick.
- What?
- Yeah.
- [laughs]
- Did you feel that? Yeah?
- Yeah, I felt it.
- Alright.
- I think, that was a right hand.
I know, he must have been
hitting a heavy bag in there.
Yeah, he's getting ready. He's doing his fight
camp in there, ready to come out, you know.
A champion just like me.
[laughs] My boy.
Come on, let's go to sleep.
Yo, Darien.
Yo, Darien.
Darien.
Darien, where are you, buddy?
Darien.
Darien.
Where are you, buddy?
Oh, fuck.
- [??] Mia Romano, I like it.
- It's a boy.
I think I like Axel.
Axel Romano.
A strong name.
God, what a name, Axel.
I like it.
Come on.
Come on, don't you just wanna
say it, like all the time. Axel.
- Axel, Axel. [Giggles]
- OK, OK.
Ah. [Giggles]
Oh, uhm...
I think something's happening.
Are you OK?
I think my water just broke.
[Joe] That's it,
that's it, jab, jab.
One, two. One, two, three.
That's it.
One, two, three, add a hook.
There you go.
You're like a Tommygun.
What's a Tommygun, Daddy?
It's a super powerful gun.
You know what, that's
what I'm going to call you.
Ladies and gentlemen,
the undisputed,
undefeated heavyweight
champion of the world,
Tommy "Gun" Romano.
Hi, the umbilical cord was wrapped around the
baby's neck cutting off the oxygen supply,
but we managed to stabilize
everything and she's fine.
Oh, my God. [Chuckles]
Oh, thank you.
Thank you.
You're welcome. It'll be OK.
- Thank you very much. Thank you.
- You're welcome.
Hi. [Laughter]
- Is she sleeping?
- OK, OK.
Oh my god.
- Oh, hi. Look at her. Oh my god, she's beautiful.
- Congratulations.
Thank you.
I didn't do much. It was her.
- Congratulations. She's so pretty. Oh my god.
- Thank you.
Maybe you can give us a minute?
- Yeah, yeah, of course.
- Thank you, guys.
OK, OK.
I'm gonna get some coffee, OK?
Thank you.
Hey.
- Wow.
- She looks just like her daddy.
- Does she really?
- Well, I mean kind of?
- Wow. I love you.
- I love you too.
Come here.
Ahem.
- Feel my heart?
- [chuckles]
We did good.
- This is nice, huh?
- Uh-hum.
- I love you so much.
- I love you too, babe.
[ominous music]
[ominous music]
[ominous music intensifying]
- Hey, your family is right here on the right.
- Oh, it is?
- Right here.
- Some proud grandparents.
Hey, buddy.
Hey, Gary, I was hoping maybe
you could give me a lift home?
- Yeah, yeah, of course.
- Everything alright?
Yeah, yeah, yes. Everything's fine.
I'm just exhausted. A long night.
I understand.
Alright, I'm going to
stay with Sarah and the baby.
OK.
- I love you so much. I'm so proud of you.
- I love you too.
- Thank you so much.
- OK. Right shoulder, buddy.
- Alright, yes.
- Here we go.
- Gary, your phone.
- Yes.
Please remember
to bring mine back.
It's charging in the kitchen.
- Trust me, I won't forget.
- Alright.
- OK, bye.
- Bye.
- See you soon.
- I love you.
I love you.
[ominous music]
- [Tommy] Home sweet home.
- [Gary] Home sweet home.
Where you at, Gary? [Laughs]
- I'm right here. Found me?
- Yes, where you at?
- I got you.
- Alright, we're gonna step down, kiddo.
- OK.
- Got it?
- Yeah, I'm good.
- OK, good.
- One more, big guy.
- You're like my seeing eye dog, you know.
I'll call you Bruno or
something from now on.
OK, I'll go with that.
Alright, right here, big guy,
right here.
- We have a couch?
- Yes, just have a sit.
Oh, yes. Thank you.
Alright, buddy, well, I'll come back
and get you whenever you're ready, OK?
- Sounds good.
- Alright.
- Oh, and pal?
- Yeah?
- You're a dad.
- It's crazy.
It's awesome.
- See you, buddy.
- We'll see you.
[engine starting
car driving away]
[suspenseful music]
[announcer]
Ladies and gentlemen,
hailing from Los Angeles,
with a record of 16 wins,
zero losses,
Tommy "Gun" Romano.
[crowd cheering]
[bell ringing]
[punching sounds]
[crowd cheering]
[car honking]
Oh, shit. Fuck.
Why can't you just
keep your phone on you, honey?
[dramatic music]
[dramatic music intensifies]
Hi.
Where's Tommy?
- Hey, Joe.
- Hey.
- What's going on?
- What's up?
Nothing much. Just uh...
- Where's Tommy?
- He's just sleeping. Sleeping.
OK, wake him up.
Time to roll up.
- [Joe] Now wake him up.
- [Gary][indistinct]
Fuck you. Don't fucking
look at me like that.
- Don't fuck...
- No, just relax don't...
Don't fucking
look at me like that.
I'll roll you right now...
[gunshot]
Tommy!
Tommy. Tommy. Tommy.
Tommy, are you there?
Tommy. Tommy. Tommy!
Tommy! No!
[crying]
No, no! What did you do?
What did you do?
What did you do?
What did you do?
[crying]
Come back, please.
[crying]
[somber music]
[crying]
[knock on door]
[knock on door]
- [Joe] Please open up, Jimmy.
- Is that Joey?
Yeah, it's me.
- Joey, it's late I'm...
- Can you please open?
[Jimmy] I said you needed help, but
I didn't say I was gonna do it.
[throwing up]
Let it out.
Let it all out. Don't hold back.
You gotta get every drop in there,
otherwise you're gonna be cleaning it up.
Here you go.
[Joey] Oh...
It's good.
[throwing up]
[indistinct]
[gunshot]
[nightmare noises]
OK, man, this is chicken broth.
You have to get it down.
That's good.
- Now help feed yourself, come on.
- Yes.
Let me make something crystal
fucking clear to you right now.
I'm not doing this for you.
This is for me.
This is God's will.
He's working through me.
I'm just the messenger here
and this is your God's shot.
- I don't deserve any another shot.
- [baby talk]
Now you're
majorly whisking this.
This is just about to make me vomit.
Why don't you just man up?
I know that you've got what they call
fisher king wound and you've got in spades.
You don't even know
what happened.
You know, I don't give
a fuck what happened.
What's important is
what are you gonna do about it?
You know what happens to other
motherfuckers like us who drink?
We are rendered female.
And the alcohol just knocks the logical
mind right out of our fucking heads.
When we turn into blubbering little
wussies, just like you are now.
"Oh, why did the whole world do
this to me, who did this to me."
Why? I can't do that.
"I couldn't get,
couldn't do this."
Like what do you got?
A fucking vagina in there?
Fuck you.
Yeah, fuck me.
Yeah, fuck me, right.
No, fuck you.
Do something about yourself.
As I said to you before,
you got to do good to feel good.
You don't go out, get all fucking
high and feel good to do good.
That don't work bro, not at all.
It's spiritual teachings
of Marcus Aurelius.
- You read it?
- No.
How... Why does that surprise me?
If it isn't true, don't say it.
If it's not right, don't do it.
Maybe, you ought to
get that tattooed
on your skinny
little fucking chest.
Oh, it's called an alchemical
process, by the way.
You have to burn from the inside
to the outside to get to the gold.
Reading ain't gonna fix this.
You know, motherfucker,
I got news for you.
You came to me.
You showed up on my doorstep.
You got me involved.
Now you're in country.
You're in Vietnam,
you're little soldier boy
who's gonna start to fucking
step, right now. Right now!
Boom. Wake up.
Fucker. Candy ass twerk.
- [Giggles]
- Better keep it tight.
[groans]
- There you go.
- With the left.
One, two, yeah.
[groaning]
Argh! Ah!
Oh!
[jazz music]
- You play against yourself?
- Yeah.
If you do not conquer self, you
will be conquered by yourself.
Napoleon Hill,
he's on the shelf.
- Wanna play?
- Does a bear shit in the woods?
- Oh, you're an asshole?
- Yeah, come on.
Really? OK, bring it.
[indistinct]
Alright.
Choose your side.
No, Joey, choose your side.
What? I just did.
What does it matter?
OK, it doesn't matter?
Yeah.
You just ain't getting it,
are you?
[sigh]
Do you wanna fucking
play chess or what?
Yeah, I'll play you
when you're ready.
- I am ready.
- No, you ain't.
"Law: The Universe will give
back action for action..."
[whispering]
Here we must look one step ahead
and guard against the danger
of accepting surrender
as a sort of...
I'm out of here.
Yeah? Where are you gonna go?
- It doesn't matter.
- [chuckles] Wow, man.
Do you know there has been a real
shift in your consciousness?
Whether you believe that or not.
You've got nine days sober
as of today.
Nine days, yeah?
Did you know that?
- Yeah.
- Nine days, not bad.
You could be a potent person.
You might even
deserve another shot.
Maybe.
But I don't think
your balls have dropped yet.
You know what? You know what? Who
the fuck do you think you are
talking to me like that? Huh?
I'll fucking smash you right here
and nobody will even know about it.
When I let go of what I am,
I become what I might be.
[sigh]
You've cracked the code.
Cracked it wide open.
You've just got to
learn how to decipher it.
Who where I turn this.
Who where I turn this.
Who where I turn this.
It means you turn a boy...
In psychological terms, it means
an older man whose emotional life
has remained in an adolescent stage.
Sounds familiar, kiddo?
- [sigh]
- Was that a sigh?
That's good. That's the sigh
of acknowledgment.
That's good.
- I don't have anything left.
- Oh God, do you know, your lack of self confidence
is just it's...
It's putrefying, really is.
Just, you know, get off your ass
man. You know, are you a loser?
- No.
- No?
- No.
- You're not the joke that they
all think that you are?
- No.
- No? I don't believe you.
Are you willing to take action?
Are you just gonna leave here now
and go right back where you were?
Go out there cry,
feel sorry for yourself?
I'm gonna do something about it.
Yeah? OK, well, then do it.
Do the actual footwork
that is necessary.
OK.
- The rest you leave to the gods and goddesses.
- OK.
[traffic sounds]
[music beats]
[speaking Spanish
in the background]
And he said, "Todo right? I
thought you said todo fight."
[laughter]
So, since when do they let
homeless people in here, huh?
[laughing]
- You took the fucking padding off.
- What? Oh.
Hey, Joe. Can we get
you a drink?
Grab a chair. Why don't you sit?
- No, Ray, I don't drink.
- You now [speaking Spanish]?
He had some very heavy hands back
in the day. Very heavy hands.
By the way,
I'm very sorry about your loss.
Don't you fucking
play games with me, Ray.
Don't you fucking
play games with me.
They took the goddamn
padding out of those gloves.
They fucking blinded my son.
They blinded him.
They ended his career, his life.
I'm telling the whole fucking world about
it, unless you do something for me
- and you're gonna do it right now.
- And what am I supposed to do?
You're going to give me his fucking
rematch. That's what you're going to do.
- Look, I can't do that.
- Bullshit. You can do anything.
You know, you look like
you could use a few bucks.
You name it. How much?
Right here.
Really?
You sure you wanna do this?
- You got a problem here?
- I don't know, maybe.
This is Joe Romano. Tommy's dad.
- So?
- So he wants to fight you.
I'll fight him.
Wow, wow, wow. Save it for the ring. At
least, let me sell some tickets, huh?
OK, Joe, you get your fight.
You got 30 days.
That's all you got?
[radio playing]
The worse you look,
the better you are.
You look like shit.
Rome wasn't built in a day.
[Freddie] Joe, you called me
yesterday, you call me today.
Stop calling me.
[dog barking]
[Freddie] You think you lost Tommy. I
lost Tommy too. He was my son too.
Stop calling me, Joe.
Stop calling me.
Give me one good reason why
I should do this for you, Joe.
[Joe] You're not doing this for me.
You're doing this for Tommy.
[music intensifies]
Come on man. OK, OK.
[Jimmy] Joe, there's... There's two
kinds of people in this world.
There's the hedonists
and then there's the stoics.
The hedonists, they do whatever
they can fucking do to feel good.
Stoic does what's right,
no matter how it feels.
[coach] Come on!
- [Jimmy] Are you a looser?
- Six, seven.
[Jimmy] You're not the joke that
they all think that you are.
You could be important person.
You might even
deserve another shot.
Come on!
There you go.
[groans]
[roars]
[Jimmy] If you do not conquer self,
you will be conquered by yourself.
[exhales]
Thanks, Jim. I'm here with a man with the
Midas touch, also known as Mr. Ray Bruno.
Now tell me, Mr. Bruno, why would you
let a fight like this take place?
Well it's America, baby.
And if you believe in yourself,
anything's possible, huh?
Ha, ha, ha...
OK, well, if that doesn't sum it
up, what does? Jim, back to you.
Hey, Joe.
I think you should have this.
- Thank you, Jim.
- Ah.
- Wanna get me a minute alone?
- Yeah, yeah. Sure. Take your time.
[crying]
[exhales]
[Jimmy]
When I let go of what I am...
I become what I might be.
[announcer] Let's get ready for
an exciting fight tonight.
Introducing the challenger, with a
record of 17 wins and four losses.
This fighter has not stepped
in the ring in almost 20 years.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Joe Romano!
[bell rings]
[announcer] And now,
ladies and gentlemen
hailing from Cuba
via The Bronx...
[announcer] With a record of
23 wins, one loss.
- Miguel Justo!
- Justo! Justo!
[bell rings]
[crowd] Justo! Justo!
OK, guys, bring them in.
Gentlemen, you received your instructions in
the dressing room. I want a good clean fight.
Obey my commands at all times, above
all, protect yourselves at all times.
- Touch 'em up, I said touch 'em up.
- Go.
[crowd] Justo! Justo! Justo!
[bell rings]
[huffing]
[commentator] I think he's just throwing
again. I think he saw a ghost over there.
That's sweet, you know what I mean. This is,
you know... I can't take this seriously.
- Oh. Oh.
- [commentator] What a left.
[bell rings]
[exhales heavily]
[bell rings]
Come on!
What happened to Tommy?
[Catherine] I cannot handle
your bullshit right now.
It's just that I have
to go take care of Tommy.
[Joe]
Cathy, what happened to Tommy?
[gunshot]
[emotional music]
[commentator] It seems like the
progress is amateur at this point.
Yes, left, right body shots.
[laughs]
[bell rings]
Break! Break!
[Freddie] Joe, are you
a punching bag or something?
[Jimmy] Who where I turn this?
Who where I turn this?
That means an older man
whose emotional life
has remained
at an adolescent stage.
Sound familiar, kiddo?
You got to do good to feel good.
Do not give a fuck what's happened, what's
important is what are you gonna do about it.
You have to burn from the inside
to the outside
to get to the gold.
[bell rings]
[Jimmy] You've cracked
the code, cracked it wide open.
You just got to learn
how to decipher it.
[epic music]
Look at me.
What's wrong with you?
You are going to go in there
and you're going to finish him.
You understand me? Finish him.
Finish him!
[Freddie] Come on, dude. You're
blowing this fight.
Throw some punches. Work on your
body. Break him down.
You're a better fighter, man.
Look at me, look at me.
Show me something, please. Get in there.
Work this out. Come on.
[bell rings]
[crowd cheering]
- [commentator] Referee is now starting the count.
- Oh.
One, two, three,
four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine.
- You alright?
- Yeah.
- You want to continue?
- Yes.
Come on. You got
to work with your body.
You got to work it out.
You got to move your head.
Be focused.
[crowd cheering]
Fight!
- [referee] One!
- You're a drunk, Dad. You're a drunk.
[referee] Two. Three.
Argh!
Four. Five.
[laughter]
Six.
You're in Vietnam.
You're a little soldier boy
who's gonna start to fucking
step right now. Right now!
Seven.
[Jimmy] Get off your ass, man.
Are you a loser?
You're not the joke that
they all think that you are?
Eight.
[Jimmy] When I let go
of what I am,
I become what I might be.
Gloves.
You good?
- You want to go on?
- Yes.
[commentator]
Stop the fight, guys.
[commentator 2] There is blood oozing into his
eyes and down the right side of his cheek.
Right now, a moan mostly.
You two.
OK. Fight!
[crowd cheering]
Fight back,
fight back, champion. Boom!
[crowd cheering]
One...
Four. Five. Six.
[commentator] This was something
unbelievable. This is unbelievable.
[bell rings]
[crowd cheering]
[calm music]