The Cage Fighter

Thanks to the extraordinary access Joe and his family granted to Unay, the pain comes through seemingly unfiltered. The anguish is so raw and the sorrow so intense that the viewer feels like a voyeur.

Though it may leave audiences with a fair number of questions unanswered, "The Cage Fighter" is engrossing and notably well-packaged within its limitations.

A real-life version of Hollywood boxing-movie tropes.

spare and brutal documentary... an unflinching portrait of a man finding himself in the ring.

Although it's a documentary, The Cage Fighter teems with characters that are familiar from fictional tales.

At just 81 minutes, "The Cage Fighter" has been whittled down to its fighting weight, trimmed of every ounce of fat.

Shot in a raw but well-developed vérité style, the documentary swerves neatly from Carman's high-adrenaline matches to him goofing off with his kids to the dark and violent people in his life (his father, his coach) who influence the choices he makes.

Carman may initially seem like an "average Joe," but both he and this thoughtful film contain multitudes.

Maddeningly vague, omits pertinent facts and raises more questions than it answers.

The Cage Fighter isn't sentimental about the notion of an aging sports hero who needs one more day in the proverbial sun, recognizing that desire as macho folly.

It's a knockout.

"The Cage Fighter" is hardly epic in scope or originality, but it is uncommon to watch this degree of open self-flagellation on screen.