Cardboard Boxer

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Knate Gwaltney directs. Peter A. Holland behind the camera. Jess Stroup scores. Jeff Seibenick cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
• 2Released 10 years ago.
• 3Directed by Knate Gwaltney, shot by Peter A. Holland. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by Jess Stroup. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Editor Jeff Seibenick shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6Thomas Haden Church and Terrence Howard and Boyd Holbrook carry the top of the cast.
• 7IMDB entry: tt3230660 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 8Only 65 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography

Peter A. Holland

Original score

Jess Stroup

Editing

Jeff Seibenick

Production design

Kathrin Eder

Costume design

Samantha Kuester

Makeup / hair

Jaime Leigh McIntosh

Runtime

88 min · 1h 28m

Status

Released

Budget

$10,000,000

Original language

EN

IMDB

Cardboard Boxer (2016) ↗

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Reno2016-12-14
  ★ 7/10

  The diary that found a homeless man. It's not what the title says. I mean it's not a sports film, but it has a little influence of that. Instead the title should have been related to the word 'diary'. Because that plays a main part in this narration. This is the story of a homeless man who one day finds a diary in the trash. The diary of a young girl who had lost her mother and living with her abusing uncle. So on, it reveals her unpleasant life, but he finds some similarities with her. So he writes the replies, but since he doesn't who she is and where she lives, it goes straight into the thin air as a paper plane. On the other side, he often makes money on the street fighting that one day does not go well. So after that where he ends is what brings the end to the tale. A much appreciable small budget film. Feels like a sentimental theme, but was not exploited so well. I have seen Thomas Haden Church in many flicks, but never in a lead role like in this one. He was the whole film, a couple of other characters come into the frame very often. So he was good, but expected a lot more than that. The blame goes to the screenplay, but also I liked the simple drama. Simple is quite enjoyable than too much of twist and turns and developments. So if you are the guy who takes chances in B movies, this is the one. Not the best film, though a heartwarming conclusion favours it. I know that part was a bit offbeat, but acceptable. So I say go for it. 6.5/10

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• 5rJoud2021-07-04
  ★ 1/10

  Unfortunately not Bumfights Sep 16, 2016 I wrote: This movie is incredibly boring, and not very well made. No character development, shaky cam for no reason, long shots of nothing. There is never explained who the main character is. The kids recruiting him for fighting are vilified in the most amateurish way. The plot is not so much about the fighting (very few scenes badly done), it is more about the homeless man, his environment and his delusions, using an imaginary friend to... talk to, I guess. I would go so far as to say the plot is really absent. In the end the director uses a cheap surprise ending (which is predictable enough) and heavy music to evoke an emotional response. No reviews yet and the film has a rating of 7.9 (all on a different website), I wish I could say I give 0.5 stars to alleviate this, but the reality of the situation is "Cardboard Boxer" is garbage. Jan 14, 2020 edit: I'm so sad not many people found my review helpful. Looking back 4 years later I find it to be very accurate. I am migrating my reviews from a different site which has become like this picture, garbage. TMDB looks awesome and I look forward to be a part of it.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• MJ

  MJW Films

  US

• NI

  Night & Day Pictures

  US

Key crew

• ElectricianJane Drewett
• ProducerMichael Roiff
• Costume DesignSamantha Kuester
• GafferPaul Monroe
• Hair Department HeadJaime Leigh McIntosh
• ProducerMike Witherill
• CastingSunday Boling
• Dialogue EditorNolan Hughes
• Foley EditorJosh Kupanoff
• Art DirectionMelisa Jusufi
• Key CostumerJanae Murray
• Boom OperatorRyan Bertolami
• Digital IntermediateMichael Eaves
• Camera OperatorPeter Borosh
• Production DesignKathrin Eder
• Property MasterChloe Knapp
• EditorJeff Seibenick
• Digital IntermediateKit Lubold
• CastingMeg Morman
• ADR EditorNolan Hughes
• Makeup Department HeadBeverly Jo Pryor
• Script SupervisorTaylor Chen Travers
• Supervising Sound EditorChristopher Sheldon
• Sound Effects EditorMatthew Whitehurst

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical2016-09-16