Diana Guzman begins to train as a boxer and achieves impressive success, blazing new trails for female boxers, all while keeping it a secret from her father.
It's obvious Kusama knew what she wanted and was in control, because all the key roles and scenes are played with a uniform tone and conviction.
– Louis B. Parks,
Houston Chronicle,
21 Jul 2005
fresh:
Kusama's direction is imaginative, her attention to detail makes for credibility and clarity with regard to the dilemmas faced by her determined young heroine, and Rodriguez is quite astonishing in the lead role.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
9 Feb 2006
fresh:
For all the violence on view, Kusama's script insists on a real, wholly unsentimental tenderness.
– Matt Wolf,
Associated Press,
26 Mar 2007
fresh:
For once, the advance buzz has been amply justified, thanks to an extraordinarily charismatic film debut by a non-professional named Michelle Rodriguez.
– Andrew Sarris,
New York Observer,
27 Apr 2007
fresh:
It gives its fine actors room to breathe and behave -- and in Michelle Rodriguez's case, glow.