I love a good movie or TV show etc… entertainment in general and I must admit Halle “Pretty Bull” Berry came through STRONG!
A scene from Bruised on Netflix produced, directed by, & starring Halle Berry!
I mean she KILLED IT! Halle are you kidding me? I swear I did not watch the preview credits so I didn’t read the name or even pay much attention to the preview picture, I honestly didn’t know she was Halle Berry until my wife said
“Oh yeah that’s Halle Berry” I said “no it’s some new woman on a Netflix show.” “She said look that’s Halle Berry.” I had absolutely NO Idea!
I had to take 3 looks because Halle simply engulfed herself into this role. Honestly Halle Berry wrapped herself in this script like a mummy and locked herself in a sarcophagus were her body, soul and spirit became one with “Jackie Justice” not just the lines but the whole commitment it took to become a MMA fighter the dedication showed through her body composition and the aggressive fighting scenes!
From the moment she came on the scene she stole the attention. The choice of the cast was important they be strong and they accomplished that. The chosen actors who complimented her visually as well as skillfully. Meaning her cast mates where EXCELLENT compliments! The young boy “Mannie” played his way right into our heart. He was emotionally hurt and his anger was visually loud, but at the same time he was strong and self willed, damn near invincible, he had Jackie’s determination! He may not have had control over his situation, but he wasn’t just going to give up control over his heart! That was a powerful script for him. Not to mention his first words were “Thank you Big!” Tear jerker! His love & trust had to be earned, he wasn’t going to give it! From the moment she came on the scene she stole the attention. The choice of the cast was important they be strong and they accomplished that. The chosen actors who complimented her visually as well as skillfully. Meaning her cast mates where EXCELLENT compliments!
The young boy “Mannie” played his way right into our heart. He was emotionally hurt and his anger was visually loud, but at the same time he was strong and self willed, damn near invincible, he had Jackie’s determination! He may not have had control over his situation, but he wasn’t just going to give up control over his heart! That was a powerful script for him. His love & trust had to be earned, he wasn’t going to give it! Not to mention his first words were “Thank you Big!” Tear jerker!
The choice of Adriane Lenox as the mother was DEAD HEAD ON! She was excellent in that role. You could see there was some obvious issues between the 2 but we could only speculate but just didn’t quite know what. Thankfully they didn’t do the typical flashback mess. No! Instead we got see her strength as an actress mother go toe 2 toe with Jackie, While circling back to her motherly instincts and taking Mannie back in, even if she was doing kind of in spite! Her face was a loving 1, regardless of her mindset. With that face we could tell she had the love for her daughter and supported her as a fighter, but we know she just didn’t know how to express it. We now know it was guilt, but that is a new story for another movie!
Sheila Atim, “Budakai” was the perfect compliment to Jackie. Starting with her visuals. The looked amazing the height, build, complexion, & hair style made her the perfect compliment for this role opposite the rough Jackie! Her accent set it over the top! I think that voice cadence mixed with the accent, her size and stature helped framed a person with a hard exterior and focused mindset. It took that broken woman and broken child to show “us” she was really broken as well! Everything she was doing were the strands of tape keeping her together! I loved the way she listened to Jackie and didn’t take the rejection as well “rejection” but instead an opportunity to show she supported her decision and loved her enough to prove it!
Of course the other actors were super strong as well! Stephen Henderson loved his casting for this role was a perfect fit! Ditto for Shamier Anderson “Immaculate” we knew his background before he told her! He did that! The ex boyfriend was precisely what we needed to make Jackie’s story so powerful!
I love they didn’t show us the incident were “Jackie” jumped out the ring, during the fight. It was perfectly written for her to tell us the whole incident with the reasoning at that specific moment! Overall I loved this movie! I also loved Halle Berry simply becoming this character who I want to see on an UFC pay per view!
I do want to say I feel like whether it be purposely or not I love the connection of the character’s last name being “Justice” and fighting her battle out of domestic violence & starting to challenge her own demons. In order become the person she could love and being available to LOVE her son! Knowing Halle Berry’s own history with the last name of “Justice” I think it served to heal both of them!