Cardboard Boxer

If you want a drama that takes its characters as seriously as its plot, Cardboard Boxer is available in the US on Kanopy and Hoopla right now. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. A 6/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Thomas Haden Church's performance alone is worth the time investment. Start it on Kanopy whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

Cardboard Boxer is not trying to be everything to everyone, and that focus is exactly what makes it work. Cardboard Boxer trusts its audience to sit with discomfort instead of resolving it too quickly. Gentle and broken, a homeless man fights others on video for money but soon finds comfort in an unlikely friend and the lost diary of a young girl. Thomas Haden Church and Terrence Howard lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. Cardboard Boxer came out in 2016. Cardboard Boxer resists tidy resolutions in a way that respects how messy real consequences actually are. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

For anyone looking for storytelling that takes its characters seriously, Cardboard Boxer delivers. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. Best experienced as a single, sustained watch from start to finish. Thomas Haden Church is the centre of it, and it is one of their strongest performances on record. The patience it asks of you early on is paid back with interest.

Cardboard Boxer was released in 2016, directed by Knate Gwaltney. The full 88-minute film is available to watch now. Find exactly where it's streaming below, and TV Butler Pro makes it effortless to track your progress as you go. Just search the name, and Butler finds it instantly, tells you which service has it, and remembers exactly where you left off.