Academy Award winner Barry Levinson is recognized as one of this generation’s most respected filmmakers. With an extensive filmography including Good Morning, Vietnam, Bugsy, Liberty Heights, Sleepers, Wag The Dog, and the Academy Award-winning Rain Man, Levinson has truly earned his stripes over the years.
However, since 1997, the director has been more miss than hit. With his first collaboration with Ben Foster in 25 years, it was challenging to be cautiously optimistic about his Toronto International Film Festival selection, The Survivor. But that optimism was rewarded with Levinson’s best film since Wag The Dog and one that is sure to pull at your heartstrings while offering an insightful look at the determination and resilience of Harry Haft.
What is been labeled as Raging Bull meets Schindler’s List; The Survivor is based on the book “Harry Haft” by Haft’s son, Allan Scott Haft. It tells the compelling true story of Harry Haft, a holocaust survivor who became a prized fighter in America after boxing in the concentration camps to entertain the Nazi soldiers to survive. Through flashbacks jumping between Haft’s time in the concentration camps during the war and his current life, Levinson paints an exciting picture of Haft’s struggle and perseverance.
What drives Haft in his post-war days isn’t just fighting but why he continues to fight. Haft was in love with a young woman, Leah (Dar Zuzovsky), in Poland before the war and was separated when they were sent to the camps. As Haft’s career is subpar at best, he wants to take on the legendary Rocky Marciano to attain enough recognition that Leah may hear about him. This choice embodies Haft’s drive and resilience as he’s willing to take a beating to reconnect with the woman he loved.
Yes, this is a boxing film per se. However, Levinson effectively uses the ring as a metaphor for Haft’s physical and emotional battle scars throughout his life. That metaphor leads to an examination of Haft’s choices throughout his life and the sacrifices a man endured to survive the tragedies of Auschwitz. By the film’s conclusion, you are left an emotional wreck by the journey the film takes you on.
What may be distracting to some, I thought, was one of the film’s wisest choices. When The Survivor jumps time, the scenes at the concentration camps are in black and white, and thanks to George Steel’s impeccable cinematography, you are fully engrossed in the horrors occurring on screen. One scene, in particular, revolves around a fight starting during the day and lasting late into the night and, without a doubt, provides my favorite shots of the film.
The ensemble cast behind Ben Foster is all a delight. Standing out from that supporting cast are Danny DeVito and John Leguizamo as two trainers who add comedy to a mostly downer subject matter. Yes, the ensemble is killer, but the star of this film is Ben Foster. There are constant prisoner-of-the-moment reactions to films during film festivals. I am confident in saying Foster’s performance is a transformative career-defining performance for the actor.
It’s unsettling yet fascinating to observe Foster fully transform himself both emotionally and physically. Foster lost 60 pounds for the flashback roles and regained the weight for the scenes in the ’60s. The fact that Foster can portray Haft during three periods in his life while still effectively depicting the emotional trauma through those periods shows the brilliance of the performance. It’s one of those performances that stick with you and one I hope receives an Oscar nomination Foster rightfully deserves.
While the film primarily works for me, there is no denying that the film is unnecessarily bloated. The 2 hours 9 minute run time could have used one more edit with a tightening up on some unnecessary scenes. Levinson also incorporates a few too many “on the nose” moments for my liking that take away from the film’s authenticity.
Despite the flaws, The Survivor is a first-round knockout! George Steel’s cinematography and Foster’s performance left me speechless as the credits rolled. In a world where biopics are the norm in Hollywood, The Survivor stands tall as one of my favorite in quite some time and a triumphant return for Barry Levinson.
