Price of Glory

What stands out first about Price of Glory is the confidence with which Carlos Avila establishes its sports drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Price of Glory asks Jimmy Smits and Maria del Mar to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Price of Glory is established with useful clarity: A father whose boxing career was derailed channels his love of the sport into coaching his three sons but when an outside manager offers to take over, the family threatens to split in this hard hitting drama. That direct approach lets Price of Glory use its 1h 58m running time for character, atmosphere and consequence.

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Price of Glory uses its sports drama framework to consider discipline, self worth and the danger of treating results as identity. For the character played by Jimmy Smits, that idea gives Price of Glory stakes beyond the next immediate obstacle. The recurring pressure of an important relationship prevents the theme in Price of Glory from feeling like decoration added after the story. Carlos Avila makes Price of Glory more thoughtful whenever the implications remain inside action and reaction.

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As director of Price of Glory, Carlos Avila proves more promising in concept than persuasive in execution in the transitions between intimate material and larger demands. A strong scene in Price of Glory often begins with a modest detail before Carlos Avila lets its meaning expand. For Price of Glory, committed work cannot fully overcome the structural weakness because the central tone remains visible even during busy passages. The weakness in Price of Glory is that relationships remain too thin for later consequences to carry weight, although Carlos Avila usually finds the original rhythm again.

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Performance is the clearest human asset in Price of Glory, beginning with the committed centre provided by Jimmy Smits. Maria del Mar keeps Price of Glory from settling into one emotional register by approaching the material from another angle. The presence of Jon Seda gives the surrounding world of Price of Glory additional texture without distracting from the main line. When Carlos Avila holds on a reaction, Price of Glory communicates more efficiently than another explanatory exchange could manage.

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The narrative of Price of Glory works from a simple but productive collision between the central character and an important relationship. Through Jimmy Smits, Price of Glory keeps that premise rooted in a reaction the audience can understand. Phil Berger introduces a difficult choice at a useful point, giving Price of Glory a reason to change pace without abandoning its emotional line. The handling of the wider conflict is not equally fresh, yet Price of Glory usually earns attention through clarity rather than surprise alone.

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Price of Glory gains much of its identity from training shaped into dramatic progression, a choice that makes the world readable as well as attractive. The contribution of New Line Cinema allows Price of Glory to combine training shaped into dramatic progression with a consistent visual language. Within its United States setting, Price of Glory makes particularly good use of competition filmed with clarity when the story needs to change scale. Sound and editing preserve the personality of Price of Glory by supporting detail instead of announcing every intended response.

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My final view is that Price of Glory provides a difficult recommendation despite several capable contributions for sports drama fans who care about the people behind the contest. Jimmy Smits supplies the emotional memory of Price of Glory, while Carlos Avila keeps the genre machinery readable. A concern remains because relationships remain too thin for later consequences to carry weight across part of Price of Glory, yet the better passages retain their force. What earns Price of Glory consideration is not perfection but the presence of choices that feel made for this story.