The Set-Up

1949 · Directed by Robert Wise · 73 min · USA

An aging boxer, one last fight, told in real time.

The Set-Up 1949
Details
Ease
Approachable Good first watch: Approachable
Genre
Drama
Movement
Film Noir

The guide

The Set-Up uses a tight span of time and a few crowded spaces to make one boxing match feel like an entire moral world. The fighter's persistence meets the calculations of managers, gamblers, and spectators, each watching for a different reason. Lean and unsentimental, the film finds its tension not only in the ring but in the price of continuing when others have already decided your value.

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