Cardboard Boxer (2016)

Delivering a fully committed, moving performance, Thomas Haden Church makes you pay attention to a figure you would otherwise pass by without a second thought.

Cardboard Boxer isn’t meant to be subtle or subversive. That’s fine. It doesn’t need to be. But it does need to feel sincere or at least genuine, and that’s only occasionally the case with Lee’s underwhelming debut.

By emphasizing the uglier aspects of his most complex character, Lee turns an otherwise down-to-earth slice-of-life drama into an unconvincing morality play.

Although he effectively establishes the downtrodden milieu, Lee’s script ultimately succumbs to mounting clichés and plot contrivances.

Mr. Church fully inhabits the character, making the most of Willie’s dented moral sense and his many limitations. But the film constructs some too-perfect solutions to problems and manipulates our emotions.