cast unknown michelle rodriguez a diana be a stroke of genius . she perfect . her acting inexperience actually work in her favor . we have never see her before so it really feel like her story . she also bring across genuine toughness . this work against her though and because we never doubt her . you never have to cheer for her to win because she never go up against any fighter we do not think she can beat . so a a boxing movie and it fail . then again and this isn not really a boxing movie . how do you make a movie about a girl who want to be a boxer that isn not a boxing movie . you do not . but karyn kusama have anyway . like many indie film and girlfight defies classification or genre and stand on it own a folklore that could darn near happen in real life . diana be do poorly in school . she beat up people she doesn not like ( all the other girl in her school for example ) . she doesn not fit in . her father be force her kid brother tiny to learn to box so he can defend himself when thing get tough . he give tiny money for his boxing session and give diana nothing and a if she have no need to defend herself and nor anything worthwhile to make of her life . tiny want to go to art school ( cliche and yuck ) and so he give up his box allowance to diana and who actually want to box . thing get complicate when diana fall for another boxer and adrian ( santiago douglas ) and who look to turn pro . from there the story wind down toward the inevitable . the two meet in the amateur title fight . what leave me cold be that i never find any of this all that interest . it all just a bit too believable . kid with tough life grow up in rough urban area fall back on sport . a lot of professional boxer have rise from these circumstance . the mental and physical toughness this upbringing require lend itself to a game like boxing and where anger be your friend . so this time it a girl . big deal . or there another position to take represent finally and a boxing movie about a girl . woman box have be around a long time . the brutality we usually see in box film be replace here by discussion of people their life and their feeling . the whole fighting thing be use a a platform from which to paint a large picture . respect . overcome adversity . self discovery . i recommend girlfight because it have a good spirit and be an example of some great work by a first time director . the dialogue never rise above soap opera quality and but the story itself actually change my view on some thing . yes and the world now seem like a good place . a film do that . grade represent b .