Sign In / Sign Up

Catch the Fair One

Catch the Fair One
Release date: 2022-02-11
Rating: 6.3
Votes: 86
Genres: Thriller, Mystery
A Native American boxer embarks on the fight of her life when she goes in search of her missing sister.

Reviews

tmdb28039023

tmdb28039023

Doing some research, I find that women’s boxing rounds last just two minutes; that is, they are one minute shorter than in men’s boxing. That’s exactly how Catch the Fair One feels – like something’s missing. The ending is particularly frustrating, not because of how it plays out, but rather because it comes too soon – like a prize fight that concludes earlier than expected because one of the boxers has a glass jaw and gets, using Chris Tucker’s words from Friday, KTFO; the difference here is that it is the film, co-written and directed by Josef Kubota Wladyka, that KOs itself. Without revealing the specifics, let’s just say that there is nothing inherently wrong with an climax wherein pretty much everybody bites the dust; in fact, the greatest tragedies – i.e., Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet – end up with high body counts. However, even in death, we are left with the impression that the characters achieve something; Romeo and Juliet, for instance, manage to reconcile Capulets with Montagues, no less. In contrast, CtFO leaves us hanging – wondering, ‘is this it?’. I’m not saying the movie should have a happy ending, because that’s probably the only way to make matters worse; on the other hand, even a happy ending would be an ending. To continue employing boxing terms, what happens here is more akin to a referee stoppage than any sort of cathartic resolution. By way of comparison, Rocky actually loses to Apollo Creed at the end of the original Rocky, and he still manages to come out triumphant. In that sense, I’m thinking CtFO would have benefitted from an ending along the lines of that of Promising Young Woman – in which the heroine’s sacrifice actually means something. All things considered, the reason to watch CtFO is Kali Reis’s performance as Kaylee ‘K.O.’ Uppeshau, a woman so tough she sleeps with a razorblade in her mouth. Reis is a real-life boxer who gets a ‘story-by’ credit in CtFO, thus singlehandedly doing more to subvert the ‘dumb jock’ stereotype than most sports movies – or, for that matter, than most athletes (Kyrie Irving, the NBA player/flat-earther, or Aaron Rodgers, the vaccine-averse NFL quarterback come immediately to mind, but the examples are Legion). And for what it’s worth, this is a much better (that is to say, it’s a lot shorter) film about a female boxer than, say, Million Dollar Baby – the advantage of a rushed ending is that the movie at least doesn’t take more than two and half hours to eventually go nowhere, even if nowhere is where we wind up regardless.

badelf

badelf

Catch the Fair One: A Searing Indictment Wrapped in a Thriller In her remarkable acting debut, professional boxer Kali Reis delivers a performance so raw and naturalistic, we don't even think she's acting. As Kaylee, a boxer searching for her trafficked sister, Reis brings a visceral authenticity that transforms "Catch the Fair One" from a genre thriller into a profound human statement. The film's power lies in its unflinching gaze. What could have been a standard revenge narrative becomes a nuanced exploration of systemic violence against Indigenous women. Reis embodies a survivor's resilience - not as Hollywood heroism, but as quiet, determined survival. Behind her performance lurks a devastating global context: the United Nations estimates 50 million people currently live in modern slavery. "Catch the Fair One" isn't just a film. It's a spotlight on a human rights catastrophe that continues to render millions invisible. Josef Kubota Wladyka's direction ensures the film never feels like a lecture. Instead, it's a taut, uncompromising thriller that happens to reveal uncomfortable truths about discrimination, trafficking, and the ongoing marginalization of Indigenous communities. A film that entertains, enrages, and demands we pay attention.

Movie Recommendation

  • On the Edge
    On the Edge
    2022-06-29
    One night, Leo, a Spaniard working in Brussels as a subway driver, sees a young man on the edge of the platform, just before he falls onto the tracks.
    More...
  • The Girls Are Alright
    The Girls Are Alright
    2023-08-25
    In the middle of summer, five women rehearse a play in an old mill, isolated from the world.
    More...
  • Montana Story
    Montana Story
    2022-05-13
    Two estranged siblings return home to the sprawling ranch they once knew and loved in order to care for their ailing father.
    More...
  • Even Lambs Have Teeth
    Even Lambs Have Teeth
    2015-10-03
    Two young women terrorized by a group of small town psychos seek revenge on their tormentors.
    More...
  • The Retaliators
    The Retaliators
    2022-09-08
    An upstanding pastor uncovers a dark and twisted underworld as he searches for answers surrounding his daughter's brutal murder.
    More...
  • The Substitute
    The Substitute
    2022-10-20
    Lucio, a prestigious university professor, takes the position of substitute teacher at a high school in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, where he grew up. Through tales, novels and poetry, he tries to distract his class from the harsh reality of their everyday lives. But soon, he must step out of his professional duties when Dilan, one of his students, is threatened by a local drug kingpin.
    More...
  • Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
    Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
    2005-04-22
    A documentary about the Enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt business practices, and how they led to its fall.
    More...
  • Hawking
    Hawking
    2004-12-10
    The story of Professor Stephen Hawking's early years. It is 1963, and our young cosmologist celebrates his 21st birthday. At the party is a new friend, Jane Wilde - there is a strong attraction between the two. Jane is intrigued by Stephen's talk of stars and the Universe. But she realises that there is something very wrong when Stephen suddenly finds that he is unable to stand up.
    More...
  • A Shot Through the Wall
    A Shot Through the Wall
    2022-01-21
    A young Chinese-American cop unravels after accidentally shooting an innocent African-American man through a wall.
    More...
  • Curious Caterer: Dying for Chocolate
    Curious Caterer: Dying for Chocolate
    2022-04-10
    Goldy is a spirited single mom who’s thrust into the role of town sleuth to help solve a friend’s mysterious death. With the clock ticking to find the culprit, Goldy strikes up an unlikely partnership with Detective Tom Schultz, who leans into Goldy’s local knowledge. As their relationship shows signs of becoming something more, the suspect list rises. Will Goldy narrow in on the killer before the killer narrows in on her?
    More...
  • Monumental
    Monumental
    2016-10-14
    Two young men journey across the U.S.A to honor one's mother by spreading her ashes at monuments she always dreamed of visiting. Along the way they encounter interesting characters and dangerous situations that force them to question their own character and their life-long friendship. Marital strife, jail time, car chases, old secrets and a demolition derby all threaten to derail their trip and their lives.
    More...
  • Tyson's Run
    Tyson's Run
    2022-03-04
    When fifteen-year-old Tyson attends public school for the first time, his life is changed forever. While helping his father clean up after the football team, Tyson befriends champion marathon runner Aklilu. Never letting his autism hold him back, Tyson becomes determined to run his first marathon in hopes of winning his father's approval. With the help of an unlikely friend and his parents, Tyson learns that with faith in yourself and the courage to take the first step, anything is possible.
    More...
  • All the Old Knives
    All the Old Knives
    2022-04-08
    When the CIA discovers one of its agents leaked information that cost more than 100 people their lives, veteran operative Henry Pelham is assigned to root out the mole with his former lover and colleague Celia Harrison.
    More...
  • The Silencing
    The Silencing
    2020-07-18
    A reformed hunter becomes involved in a deadly game of cat and mouse when he and the local sheriff set out to track a vicious killer who may have kidnapped his daughter years ago.
    More...
  • Emily the Criminal
    Emily the Criminal
    2022-08-12
    Desperate for income, Emily takes a shady gig buying goods with stolen credit cards supplied by a charismatic middleman named Youcef. Seduced by the quick cash and illicit thrills, they hatch a plan to take their business to the next level.
    More...
  • The Forest
    The Forest
    2016-01-07
    Set in the Aokigahara Forest, a real-life place in Japan where people go to end their lives. Against this backdrop, a young American woman comes in search of her twin sister, who has mysteriously disappeared.
    More...
  • Tetris
    Tetris
    2023-03-15
    In 1988, American video game salesman Henk Rogers discovers the video game Tetris. When he sets out to bring the game to the world, he enters a dangerous web of lies and corruption behind the Iron Curtain.
    More...
  • Samaritan
    Samaritan
    2022-08-25
    Thirteen year old Sam Cleary suspects that his mysteriously reclusive neighbor Mr. Smith is actually the legendary vigilante Samaritan, who was reported dead 25 years ago. With crime on the rise and the city on the brink of chaos, Sam makes it his mission to coax his neighbor out of hiding to save the city from ruin.
    More...
  • Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
    Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
    2022-01-31
    When Van Helsing's mysterious invention, the "Monsterfication Ray," goes haywire, Drac and his monster pals are all transformed into humans, and Johnny becomes a monster. In their new mismatched bodies, Drac and Johnny must team up and race across the globe to find a cure before it's too late, and before they drive each other crazy.
    More...
  • Kingsman: The Secret Service
    Kingsman: The Secret Service
    2015-01-24
    The story of a super-secret spy organization that recruits an unrefined but promising street kid into the agency's ultra-competitive training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.
    More...

Similar Movies