Available in theaters and digital formats Movies. Much like Dorff's overbearing Cash, the film is easier to take when it's not in your face. Cash Boykins beats people up for a living. 11:04 AM PST 11/19/2020 IFC Films will release the film in November 2020.… At no point does “Embattled” (a generic title that notionally refers to both its lead characters, and doesn’t really capture either of them) answer the question of why anybody would want to do this to themselves. Ed Symkus can be reached at esymkus@rcn.com. “Embattled” opens in selected theaters and on VOD on Nov. 20. The father is Cash (Stephen Dorff), a hard-drinking tough guy who is long divorced, has no good words for his ex - Susan (Elizabeth Reaser) - nor she for him, is now remarried, to Jade (Karrueche Tran), and has three sons - young Kingston (Jakari Fraser) with Jade, and wannabe fighter Jett (Darren Mann) and his special needs younger brother Quinn (Colin McKenna) with Susan. Team Fighter Jett, Lantana, Texas. This leads to the inevitable scenes showing Jett being trained by Claude (Said Taghmaoui, whom the film could have used more of), the only fighter who ever beat Cash, and finally the big match itself, staged and edited for such violently visceral impact that the squeamish will be averting their eyes. Cash is a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, adept at using his fists and his feet as weapons, in order to pummel his opponent into submission or unconsciousness. | EU Privacy Preferences. Privacy Policy | Can a bit of accompanying physical violence be far behind? Frank Scheck NEW YORK, NY (July 15, 2020) – IFC Films announced today that it is acquiring North American rights to EMBATTLED, an unflinching drama about fathers and sons, toplined by a raw, dynamic performance from veteran actor Stephen Dorff (Blade, I Shot Andy Warhol, True Detective, Somewhere). Add to that such time-filling subplots as Jett setting up his mom with his soft-spoken teacher (Donald Faison) who's in a wheelchair due to his wartime injuries and Jett's relationships with his best friend (Ava Capri) and solicitous math teacher (Mimi Davila), and the film winds up feeling not so much textured as overstuffed. Yet with such an intense climax, the film has a bittersweet, almost dreamy ending, and a couple of story turns that everyone will not be expecting. Born in 1992, Jett had a history of seizures from the age of two. He might like the idea that Jett, a high school senior, wants to follow in his professional footsteps, but when he insists on sparring with him at training sessions, he makes sure to include some bad-mouthing. That's because it's otherwise hard to sustain interest over the course of Embattled, in which Dorff plays the lead role of the monstrously self-absorbed Cash. In "Embattled," the human side feels explored, as if the film could have been made without the MMA scenes and still been a worthwhile watch. He plies his trade in places like the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, in front of screaming crowds. There is no winning when it comes to a face-off between a father and son. The following page is a list of Jett's quotes. Embattled proves most effective in its smaller moments, even if they feel overly familiar, such as the scenes showcasing Jett's tender relationship with his younger brother (the young McKenna is deeply affecting in his character's playful openness), when the filmmaker doesn't seem to be trying so hard to pound you into submission. It’s the Cash-Jett relationship that the film mostly sticks with, and it’s - here comes an understatement - a problematic one. Former glamour model Katie, 42, took to Instagram on Friday to show the friendship between her daughter Princess, 13, and the former Atomic Kitten singer's mini me Heidi, 14. All rights reserved. Living with Susan and physically- and emotionally-challenged Quinn, he’s the glue that holds that situation together, but he’s starting to lose his patience. A lot of the spotlight here is directly on Jett. EMBATTLED takes its own step into the ring today, and takes on a battle of its own, fighting itself for believability while still having a prize fighters worth of believable … Their complicated relationship stems from a lot of different factors – Cash’s abusive nature being number one. THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER is a registered trademark of The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. Producers: Eryl Cochran, Scott LaStaiti, Sergey Sarkisov Production designer: Michael T. Perry Sarah Harding admits quitting cocaine was a matter of 'do or die' as she reflects on her drugs battle and rehab stint in new book. The true worth to Embattled is the path Jett takes to get to the octagon and his motivations. While Cash continues to make his fortune in the ring, his eldest son Jett (Darren Mann) becomes the caregiver to his younger brother Quinn (Colin McKenna). Composer: Michael Brook With Stephen Dorff, Donald Faison, Elizabeth Reaser, Karrueche Tran. Some back story reveals how the Cash-Susan marriage came to a nasty end a decade ago, and the current story shows that, at least out of the bedroom, home life between Cash and Jade isn’t exactly bliss. There’s at least one character that calls him a psychopath. Executive producers: Nick Sarkisov, Frank Ragen, Stephen Dorff, Colleen Camp, Rhys Coiro In the film’s fictional world, he’s a multi-time champion in the World Fighting Association (WFA), where he’s proven over and over that he’s as talented in the sport as he is vicious. Production companies: Wild League Productions, La Costa Productions, Blitz Films You know, just to help toughen up the kid. Director of photography: Paul Ozgur © 2021 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. The film Embattled follows a fractured family as the son, Jett Boykins, (played by Darren Mann) looks to become a premiere cage fighter like his father, Cash. Neither, to be fair, does it really ask it: “Fighting isn’t who you are, it’s what you do,” Jett … It’s much more about a father-son relationship as well as about finding oneself (that goes for both father and son).