Well, there’s literally no sign of Nightcrawler‘s Louis Bloom behind Jake Gyllenhaal‘s eyes in the first trailer for his latest film Southpaw—except Bloom’s (nearly insane) sense of determination, of course. The mannerisms of thin and creepy protagonist of one of last year’s greatest indie films are long gone, buried under fifteen added pounds of bulk muscle, boxing lessons, and rage. This is an entirely new Gyllenhaal that we see in the first official trailer for his upcoming film penned by Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy) and Richard Wenk (The Equalizer).
Southpaw, directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Magnificent Seven), follows the story of Billy Hope (Gyllenhaal), a professional boxer who climbs and punches his way to the top of the pile and become champion, only to let one mistake, and a horrific family tragedy, push him down into the gutter. He prepares to fight for custody of his daughter, and control over his life again, with the help of an old former boxer Titus Wills (Forest Whitaker).
Southpaw is due in theaters on July 31.
(via Variety)
