“The Fighter” TV series review

“The Fighter” (originally titled “Lea”) is a dark Swedish TV miniseries covering the ordeal of its eponymous boxer (Madeleine Martin) as she struggles to succeed in an environment in which her ring opponents are the least challenging obstacles to winning a championship. As the film opens, she’s in her first match after a two-year suspension for drug allegations that may have been unwarranted. Adrian (Joel Spira), her ex-hubby and father of their young son, is the sort of screw-up who is easy prey for the abundance of crime bosses who sully the sport. He’s in deep to Balthazar (Emil Almen), a vicious jerk who deals drugs, fixes fights and pounces on whatever sleazy opportunity may arise, supported by thugs to impose his will on the unwilling. Adrian’s problems are highly contagious.

Lea had been in Balthazar’s stable of fighters, but left in disgust to be managed by her stepdad, Sam (Ralph Carlsson), whose compulsive gambling adds yet another dimension to her woes. When she wins that return match, rumors that it was fixed trigger an inquiry led by boxing association investigator Amanda (Jennie Silfverhjelm), who has her own reasons for wanting to bring down Lea and anyone connected to her. For six hourlong episodes, we watch Lea’s zealous quest for the World Title she’s craved since childhood. As if the foregoing speed bumps weren’t enough, pile on some medical issues that make continuing to compete super-dangerous for her.

This all reads like the stuff of soap opera, and could easily have sunk to that level. But the scripts deliver a good balance of training and fighting sequences to keep the plot complexities from burying the sports side of the tale. In the latter episodes, a couple of developments add meaty suspense and character arcs. Martin handles the lead well, looking pretty convincing as a pugilist, while deftly carrying the protagonist’s dramatic load. You can tell this is European, since the star isn’t a major babe like an Angelina Jolie or Demi Moore. Martin is lean and mean; appealing without being too glamorous for any semblance of realism. Her integrity shines through the taint of underworld involvement swirling around her, keeping viewers squarely in her corner despite some questionable decisions. All the significant actors handle their roles quite well.

Subtitle-averse viewers will have their burden eased by the percentage of running time that occurs in gyms and rings with little dialog. THE FIGHTER is not an easy watch, as the seedy side of the profession seems overwhelmingly oppressive for trapped pugilists who have little control over their careers, and whose ambitions can keep them in thrall to managers and promoters with less-than-noble interests. Patience through the early bummer phase of this subtitled series will be justified.

“The Fighter” (aka “Lea”), in Swedish with English subtitles, begins streaming on MHz Choice starting Tuesday, Feb. 5.

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars