Fighting with my Family

This is a really easy to watch, largely inspirational film about the WWE wrestler Paige, from her origins as part of her family’s wresting promotion in Norwich to the big stages of the US. The early stages, showing the family who fights together, work together and bond together, has a gentle rambunctious energy (yes, mum, dad, brother and sister are all in the same ring on a regular basis), and as Paige starts training in the US (and her brother is left behind resenting that his big chance has passed him by), it keeps its eyes close on the character study (Florence Pugh is a long way from 2017’s amazing “Lady Macbeth”, but there’s still that solitary strength that shines through, and Jack Lowden as the brother impresses in a role that could easily be treated dismissively). It’s in some ways a sugarcoated and slightly sentimentalised look at the world of professional wrestling (you will not hear anything about steroids, abuse or predatory business practices here, and the film tends to slide in and out of remembering that professional wrestling matches have a predetermined outcome), but between the performances and Stephen Merchant’s light hand as writer and director, this tells its story with generosity and warm humour.