It's really about much more than cockfighting, but it does have an authentic, quasi-documentary feel to it. If I'm not mistaken those are actual chickens actually killing each other, which is an almost mind-bending concept in 2005 film-making. PETA and the ASPCA must really gnash their teeth over this movie.
The script is terse, due mostly to the fact that Frank Mansfield (Warren Oates) has taken a vow of silence until he wins the 'Cockfighter of the Year' medal handed out by some caricature of a southern Senator. But the story flows, would you really expect any Roger Corman-produced movie to get too bogged down, and largely because you're never more than twenty minutes away from another bloody cockfight.
Warren Oates is really feeling his... (no, I won't do that to you). He plays a guy totally driven by cockfighting, something that I find sort of brutal and more than a little boring, but his skill as an actor and the authenticity he brought to the role really drew me in. None of the other actors are really given a chance to make an impression.
Ultimately I only watched 'Cockfighter' to see where it fits into the Rednexploitation genre, movies such as 'Moonrunners' or 'Walking Tall.' I'd say it's near the top of that heap and it's moderately enjoyable as a slice of life and for Oates' acting, but really if cockfights are one of those traditional forms of entertainment replaced by the Gameboy then I'm not so sure it was a bad trade.
The script is terse, due mostly to the fact that Frank Mansfield (Warren Oates) has taken a vow of silence until he wins the 'Cockfighter of the Year' medal handed out by some caricature of a southern Senator. But the story flows, would you really expect any Roger Corman-produced movie to get too bogged down, and largely because you're never more than twenty minutes away from another bloody cockfight.
Warren Oates is really feeling his... (no, I won't do that to you). He plays a guy totally driven by cockfighting, something that I find sort of brutal and more than a little boring, but his skill as an actor and the authenticity he brought to the role really drew me in. None of the other actors are really given a chance to make an impression.
Ultimately I only watched 'Cockfighter' to see where it fits into the Rednexploitation genre, movies such as 'Moonrunners' or 'Walking Tall.' I'd say it's near the top of that heap and it's moderately enjoyable as a slice of life and for Oates' acting, but really if cockfights are one of those traditional forms of entertainment replaced by the Gameboy then I'm not so sure it was a bad trade.