Although the audience is way ahead of Jim's awareness of himself, Jim begins to open up to his "friend" Whetu and bears witness to Whetu's abuse at the hands of small-minded locals. As Jim points out to his father, for all the modern talk of social advancement and diversity, their town is still a pretty miserable place for an openly gay person.
Throughout the film's second half, as Jim prepares for his first professional bout, a series of Big Dramatic Developments begin to pile up.
Oosterhof (who looks like a more compact Matt Damon) and Hayes both offer up open and earnest performances which invite empathy. But the film suffers from the most New Zealand of afflictions: awkwardness.
No performer is to blame, we just ooze awkwardness as a people, and movies tend to highlight that. It remains extremely difficult for filmed New Zealand stories to feel naturalistic – as a society, we still don't quite have an agreed-upon general mode of interacting. But we're getting there, and this film is another step towards something more tangible in this area.
Roth, whose face gets more agreeably cinematic with every passing year, lends credibility to the proceedings, despite disappearing for large chunks of the movie.
Punch also benefits from a high degree of visual stylism. The underlit interior scenes contain the amber, woody hues of a Guy Ritchie film, while the lush exteriors make effective use of black sand beaches, dramatic dunes and overgrown streams.
The impressionistic editing feels a tad haphazard in the early going, but it all adds up to something you can really feel, and the inevitable fight night finalé packs a considerable emotional wallop.
Cast: Tim Roth, Jordan Oosterhof, Conan Hayes
Director: Welby Ings
Running time: 98 minutes
Rating: R16 (Rape, violence, drug use, sex scenes & offensive language)
Verdict: A sensitive, stylish New Zealand coming-of-age tale.
