The best way to describe “Shiner,” the indie feature written by Kevin Bernhardt, is a family drama about loyalty and healing. It’s also a boxing picture. Well…a boxing picture is there, hidden somewhere along the ropes, but the meat of the story and these characters’ lives lies with emotion, not punches. Writer Bernhardt also acts, in a performance that won him ‘Best Actor in a Feature Film’ at the Northeast Film Festival, US in 2017. It’s not as dramatic or fight-focused as big budget moneymakers but it has its heart in the right place. That’s an accomplishment in itself.
The film is billed as a newcomer who wants to be a contender who seeks out a fighter past his prime to tutor him. But the film is a bit of a misnomer, as Bernhardt’s ‘Happy McBride’ is a character cloaked in mystery. But in this description lies the film’s strongest asset – the camaraderie and chemistry between Seya Hug, who plays young Matt, and Bernhardt. It’s an almost instant bond, one carefully written by Bernhardt, acted by both men, and directed to near perfection by Seo Mutarevic.
When Matt meets Happy he’s a washed up medical student living out of what answers for an RV. By the end he’s still living in his RV but he’s learned something along the way. “Shiner” is not a film like “Rocky” that intends to push its characters to the their physical and emotional limits and prove something to themselves and the world in tandem. It’s more interested in the small stuff; the fact that it watches well and its one hour and 34 minute run-time passes quickly is the biggest credit to its success.
For an indie feature, the production value for the film is high, both in its cinematography and acting. Mutarevic also acts as director of photography here, and his shots are clean, precise, immediate. The movie is set in Los Angeles, but Mutarevic avoids the temptation to shoot flyovers of the skyline or Hollywood, setting his tale in dingy garages, bars, and fight arenas. And, unlike films like “Drive” or “Training Day,” the film is allowed to be shot in the bright sun LA allows, not tinted with that ever-present blanket of fading sunlight that these aforementioned films provide.
The acting is also apt. Hug, who is son to K1 martial arts superstar Andy Hug, finds easy footing in “Shiner” as an outsider who desperately wants to be a fighter. He does things that sets him apart, such as having a near encyclopedic knowledge of boxers and vital organs to punch, a composite of his luster for the profession and his having dropped out of medical school. “You don’t talk like a fighter,” McBride observes. He’s right.
What’s interesting about “Shiner” is that apart from Bernhardt and Hug, the film is also littered with a plethora of supporting actors, from boxing promoters, to trainers, to fighters and more, all whom do a good job as well. The most developed of these is a fight promoter/former manager for Happy named Larry (Brian T. Finney of “Million Dollar Baby” fame) and Shannon Staller, who plays Happy’s daughter Nikki. Staller is a nice addition, and won ‘Best Supporting Actress in a Feature Film’ at the Northeast Film Festival, US for her role here.
If criticisms do come, they come in the form of the film’s story, which unfortunately isn’t as tight as one would hope. It shows in the little things. For instance, we know that Happy was a contender and Matt wants to be an MMA fighter, but we don’t feel these things as emotionally as we should. Additionally, the film’s pièce de résistance, its finale, is watered down and loose fitting.
I don’t fault the film for laying off the often-clichéd ‘final fight’ trope here (and the film’s final shot, showing Happy looking over LA’s winding freeways at night is brilliant), but something that answers for closure is missing. Bernhardt does such a stellar job layering the relationship between he and Matt that it deserved an arena (no pun intended) for it to come to fruition. Sadly, this aspect, as well as some loose ends between Happy and Nikki are left to the wayside (though a heart-to-heart McBride has with his daughter in the diner she works at is emotional and raw, and the stuff that great performances are made of).
Overall, “Shiner” is a competent film. It’s produced well, acted well, and contains both action and drama. The fight sequences are short but choreographed well, and its soundtrack, composed by Oliver Goodwill and Alan Howarth, is fitting and appropriate. “Shiner” seems to contain the budget and resources to excel and push the envelope of the genre more than it does. Amidst a film of other, stellar accomplishments, this is its ultimate shortcoming. Bernhardt has shown himself capable of creating an engaging project; I’d be interested to see what he comes up with next.
-by Mark Ziobro
