MOVIE REVIEW

This boxing story has the ring of authenticity.

By Kevin Thomas, Times Staff Writer

Every once in a while a veteran character actor, after a solid career in films, theater and television, lands a starring role in a movie that is actually worthy of his talent. With "Fighting Tommy Riley" it has happened to Eddie Jones, and he brings the experience of a lifetime in acting to making his character, Marty Goldberg, unforgettable.

Marty has pretty much given up the battle of his own bulge, and the portly, white-haired high school teacher has learned to expect that quotes from Melville, although spoken by him with the utmost eloquence and understanding, are going to be lost on his students. Not in the best of health, he is a solitary man on the threshold of a lonely old age, living in a book-filled home with his beloved pug. Marty, however, once had another life, as a promising boxer and later as a trainer.

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The one person who seems to care for him is a forceful young woman, Diane (Diane M. Tayler), a boxing promoter who considers Marty her partner because he steered her away from a path of self-destruction. Diane has come across a moody, insecure young fighter named Tommy Riley (J.P. Davis, who also wrote the film's exceptional script) in whom she sees potential, and she persuades Marty to become his trainer.

It takes a while for the introverted Tommy to begin to trust Marty, but once he does he begins to come alive outside the ring as well as inside it. By the same token it is clear that Marty is in better spirits than he has been in a very long time, and the month the two men intend to spend at Marty's mountain cabin, where they will prepare for Tommy's big match, looks to be an especially happy period for both of them.

Both Davis' script and Eddie O'Flaherty's direction match Jones' performance in subtlety. From the first moment Marty appears there seems to be a shadow hovering over him, and there are signs of an ingrained, unshakable sadness in him. It's not surprising that in time Marty should feel love for Tommy or that the boxer begin to regard Marty as a father figure. There comes a moment of realization when the nature of Marty's feelings becomes clear, and there is at this point a shift in focus, from the consideration of the complex interplay of secrecy and repression within Marty to the contradictory feelings that sweep over the deeply loyal Tommy.

The boxing sequences in "Fighting Tommy Riley" are intense and convincing, but as with "Million Dollar Baby" it's what happens outside the ring that lingers in the heart. In watching Jones become Marty it's easy to see how Jones won prizes for his portrayal of Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman" on stage. Jones knows how to reach so deep inside himself and is in such command of his acting skills that Marty's every gesture, look and movement is expressive and revealing — even when it means to be concealing. Davis' Tommy is no less fully realized, and Tayler's Diane is also well drawn. Christina Chambers is effective as Tommy's uncomplicated girlfriend, who does not always understand him, which figures because he's often struggling to understand himself.

This small, lovingly crafted film continually surprises with its depth and resonance.

'Fighting Tommy Riley'

MPAA rating: R for language, some sexual content

Times guidelines: Adult themes and situations

Eddie Jones...Marty Goldberg

J.P. Davis...Tommy Riley

Diane M. Tayler...Diane Stone

Christina Chambers...Stephanie

Bob Silver...Paul Raci

A Freestyle Releasing and Visualeyes Productions release. Producer-director Eddie O'Flaherty. Producer Bettina Tendler O'Mara. Executive producers Diana Derycz Kessler and Paul Kessler. Screenplay by J.P. Davis. Cinematographer Michael Fimognari. Editor Aram Nigoghossian. Production designer Marla Altschuler. Art director Joe Pew. Set decorator Marsha Daniels. Running time: 1 hour, 49 minutes. Exclusively at the Regent, 614 No. La Brea Ave., L.A., (323) 934-2944.