The Survivor ★★★½
BEN Foster can almost do no wrong on screen.
The American actor tends to fly under the radar but always turns in a strong performance including in recent films like Hell or High Water, Leave No Trace, Galveston and Hostiles.
His latest, the biographical drama The Survivor, may be his best to date.
Foster plays Harry Haft, a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps in WWII who went on to have a short boxing career, including a fight against World champ Rocky Marciano.
When he was taken away to the camps, Haft was separated from his first love.
On one occasion he loses his temper and attacks a guard. An immediate execution is stopped by an officer impressed by Haft’s fighting effort.
The officer trains Haft to be his champion in a series of fights between prisoners that are bet on by the guards with the loser of each bout being executed.
Haft’s determination to survive is therefore horribly linked to the deaths of his fellow Jews, a deep guilt that Haft wrestles with for the rest of his life.
Veteran director Barry Levinson has proven he can turn any material into cinema gold with a filmography that includes Rain Man, Diner, Sleepers, Wag the Dog, The Natural and Good Morning Vietnam.
In this instance the film lovingly (if that’s the right term for this material) recreates both the contemporary settings and the concentration camps, effortlessly shifting timeframes between the two.
Foster is a force of nature, perfectly portraying the tortured nature of Haft’s soul, damaged by his part in so many deaths and the difficult psychological relationship he endured with his captor.
Also in the string cast are Vicky Krieps as Harry’s wife, Billy Magnussen as the matter-of-faculty evil officer, Peter Sarsgaard as a journalist who tells Harry’s story, John Leguizamo as his trainer and friend and Danny DeVito as a member of Graziano’s training team.
The only negative to the film is its length which drags the pacing a little in the second half.
The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2021 but hasn’t had a theatrical release in Australia.
You can see it on a range of streaming services. I actually watched it on a plane which is never the best method.