Florence Pugh has been acting since 2014, but really began to build momentum in 2018. In a relatively short time span, she has become a household name across the globe. She has had many iconic roles so far, from Yelena Belova in Black Widow to Dani in Midsommar, and making people actually like Amy March in Little Women. Pugh has had lots of memorable roles in many entertaining movies and TV shows, but Fighting with My Family is still one of her best films and contains one of her best roles.
She'd already been in several short and feature-length films before starring in the wrestling biopic. However, it’s one of the movies that first made me take notice of the actress. Overall, the movie is just a really good biopic, but Pugh is why the movie works so well.
Florence Pugh Gives A Great Understated Performance In Fighting With My Family
The talent has given plenty of Academy Award-worthy performances, and she even earned a nomination for making Amy March likable. I associate Pugh with bold, emotionally heightened performances, and she will create a character that you care about and understand, even if you don’t agree with their actions.
Everyone knows she's a great actress because she’s had many roles that allow her to showcase the layers to her characters. Fighting with My Family shows she can give layered, believable, and emotionally resonating performances even when the role doesn’t require her to scream in pain after catching her boyfriend cheating because he’s being seduced and manipulated by a cult.
Paige has a lot of depth, and the role requires her to do a lot of storytelling with body language and few words; it’s not one of Pugh’s larger-than-life performances. However, it’s just as impressive and gripping as most of her work. Clearly, she gives every one of her roles the same level of commitment. This results in a constant stream of enthralling performances.
It Isn’t A Conventional Biographical Movie
There is not a one-size fits all way to make biopics. However, many of them are formulaic. They follow a certain pattern and style, and they often focus on universally and globally famous people, dead or alive.
They’re rarely focused on a more niche beloved famous figure, especially ones who are still building their career and have been well-known for less than a decade at the time of their movie. Also, because this isn’t the typical biopic, it also has a cool factor; it’s not your grandpa’s biopic.
Fighting with My Family is also different from many biographical films because it focuses on one moment in Paige’s life. Many others try to give an overview of the highlights in someone’s life. This movie exclusively focuses on Paige’s journey at NXT and becoming a WWE Divas champion. This makes the story personal to Paige, but also still connects it with the viewer. Everyone has that one dream that they really want, so seeing her accomplish it connects her with the audience. It makes you feel like if she can do it, you can, too.
Because Paige isn’t as broadly known as some other famous figures, this allows Pugh to inhabit the role without having the pressure of performing it a certain way or trying to live up to assumptions about how to play this character. Fighting with My Family is also one of the few great movies or TV shows about wrestling, so that also makes it a little less conventional than many great sports movies and biopics.
She Creates A Charming Family Dynamic With The Cast
The cast’s chemistry is the biggest strength of Fighting with My Family. Paige is at the center of all these relationships. This isn’t one of Vince Vaughn’s best performances, but his character works really well as a coach and mentor to Paige. Their dynamic thrives because of the way Vaughn and Pugh create a tough but caring dynamic.
Lena Headey and Nick Frost have great chemistry together. You believe in their marriage, but you also believe in them as parents. They create an atmosphere that’s alternative but also very loving for all their children. Zak (Jack Lowden) and Saraya/Paige’s sibling relationship is at the center of the movie. Therefore, Pugh and Lowden have to portray this nurturing relationship between them.
She completely nails the role of a little sister who looks up to her big brother. Paige wants his support, maybe even more than she wants to become a WWE wrestler. The entire family is fun to watch and that’s mainly because of all their on-screen chemistry.
It Isn’t Florence Pugh’s Typical Film Genre
Fighting with My Family is more of a dramedy than a plain comedy, but the comedy is very important. The film is fun because of those comedic moments. When you think of Florence Pugh, though, you don’t automatically think of comedies.
She hasn’t only appeared in dramatic movies, but many of her well-known roles are very serious. This is refreshing because it’s not her typical movie and role. She’s able to play a more comedic character in a more lighthearted movie.
Pugh also looks a lot different from her normal look here, and she gets to use a voice closer to her natural accent. It’s also a character where you wouldn't automatically think “Oh, Florence Pugh would be great in that role.” Paige not being her typical role makes the film more impressive. She gives a completely believable performance because of her level of dedication to the character.
Her Wrestling Scenes Feel Authentic
The actress had a stunt double during production. However, according to Evening Standard, Pugh does many of the wrestling stunts herself. She also went through intense training for the film. Additionally, she mentioned being bruised from fights in the movie.
According to Daily Local, the experience of filming Fighting with My Family created a love for the physicality of acting. She took this enthusiasm to her work on Black Widow. It’s commendable that she committed to the role by performing many of the wrestling stunts.
This gives the film a more authentic wrestling feel. It's very much a love letter to WWE and its fans, especially with so many cameos, including one by Dwayne Johnson. He’s only in it briefly, but it’s definitely one of his best roles for just being so welcoming about his past and even channeling his The Rock persona.
I don’t know Florence Pugh’s relationship with wrestling; if she watches it, loves it, or hates it, but she definitely makes sure to help create a movie that many wrestling fans can appreciate.
