The Set-Up review

For my individual film noir viewing I choose The Set-Up. Basically, the story is about Stroker, an older boxer (in boxing terms) who is one match away from retirement. The problem is that his wife wants him to quit, and his manager wants him to throw the fight.

Initially, I was unsure what to think about this movie. I really like boxing and thats why I choose to watch this film. However, this was more of a movie about a man's pride and the consequences that come with it. While I could appreciate the plot, the scene with the fight was just brutal and I don't mean violent. I wasn't sure if this was meant to be done either on purpose or for effect. Was the fight meant to be this way because of censorship, or because it was to show how the "Golden Age of Boxing" was done away with. Whatever the reason, it was still pretty boring. The audience reactions were actually more interesting/exciting (seeing their change from booing to rooting for Stroker).
What I really liked about The Set-Up was the scenes inside of the preparation room (the room where the boxers got ready for their fight). Stroker fights last that night, so he watches the emotions of every boxer. He watches the return of each victory and each loss. It was hard not to feel like you were in Stroker's position. He is old and starts to look over his life and possible future as a boxer through his fellow boxers. Gripping stuff
I think that this was a good film to watch when trying to define film noir. While the other noir films viewed in class were about murder and cops, The Set-Up was about life, pride, and aging. Not an amazing film, but a good change up.