Plenty ofsports moviesaim to inspire hope while celebrating courage and perseverance. This can often be found when sports movies tackle underdog stories, following a reliable formula that sees an individual – or a team – come from nothing, work hard, and achieve their goals. Sometimes, however, sports movies go in the opposite direction, showcasing how defeat is possible, or that the cost of devoting oneself to a sport may harm other areas of life irreparably.
Not all the following movies are tragedies necessarily, but each of them can be seen as much darker, in one way or another, than your average/typical sports movie. Some deal with intense themes, others highlight losing over winning, and some are simply just realistic to a brutal extent.They’re ranked below, starting with the fairly dark and ending with the utterly soul-crushing.
10’The Fighter' (2010)
Director: David O. Russell
Afilm that’s about drug addictionjust as much as it is about boxing,The Fighteris a solidly made and very well-acted family drama about downtrodden folks battling personal demons and aspiring to something better in life. The protagonist is an aspiring boxer namedMicky Ward(Mark Wahlberg), though the most memorable character is his more troubled half-brother,Dicky Eklund(Christian Bale), who’s struggled with addiction and now wants to train Micky to achieve the glory he wasn’t able to attain for himself.
It’s all based on real people and real-life events, and it never shies away from the harsh realities of the lives some of the characters live. Still,The Fighterisn’t totally miserable, as there are some obstacles overcome and victories thereby attained…it’s more just that the journey there is gritty and quite emotionally intense, making large stretches of the film feel rather dark.
The Fighter
9’Slap Shot' (1977)
Director: George Roy Hill
Taking the already quiterough sport of ice hockeyand making it even more brutal,Slap Shotstands in sharp contrast to a legendary sports movie that came out just one year earlier:Rocky. Sure, you could argue that the team followed inSlap Shotare underdogs of a certain kind, butthey’re also far more chaotic and take part in a sport that they manage to make even more violent than actual boxing.
Much of this is played for laughs, which does mitigate the true “darkness” at hand, but there is also something sad at the core ofSlap Shot, or maybe even nihilistic, in a way. It’s also edgy for the violence, profanity, and crude humor shown throughout, which all contribute to this feeling like a down-and-dirty andgleefully cynical sports movie, and one that still feels quite unique, too.
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8’I, Tonya' (2017)
Director: Craig Gillespie
I, Tonyabrings somethingnew to the table as far as biopics go, combining dark humor, a fast pace, a level of irreverence, and some true moral complexity to what might’ve otherwise been a fairly standard movie. The figure at the center of it all, though –Tonya Harding– had a far from standard life, whichI, Tonyacaptures in all its complexity, rendered even more intricate because of the differing points of view explored.
Harding’s rise and fall is shown with energy, dark comedy, and, ultimately, tragedy, with the whole film being breathless and even anxiety-provoking at times. It’s a movie that can be fun to watch, but then the mood shifts and you find it slapping you in the face while (successfully) making you feel bad.It’s bold and grim, but also engaging; a tonally fascinating filmthat does feel like something genuinely great.
7’Icarus' (2017)
Director: Bryan Fogel
WhileIcarusis adocumentary (and a pretty great one), it also feels as impactful and thrilling as any sports drama would, owing to the narrative it explores and the relentless way it’s paced. Essentially, it’s a two-hour expose regarding the subject of illegal doping within the world of sports, particularly as it relates to individuals within Russia’s Winter Olympics team in 2014.
Of course, things go broader than that, with many ofthe revelations uncovered by the filmmakers behindIcarusproving troubling and even earth-shattering. It’s something that uncovers a dark side to real-life sports, and that in turn contributes to this sports documentary feeling overall quite bleak, or at least sobering. In any event, it’s likely to make you more skeptical about some sporting events and the credibility (or lack thereof) of certain sportspeople, teams, and even countries.
6’Foxcatcher' (2014)
Director: Bennett Miller
Speaking of the Olympics,Foxcatcheris another film that tells a dark story about competitors in one of the sporting events that brings the whole world together, here focusing on the Summer Olympics of 1988. Well, more specifically, it’s about the titular Team Foxcatcher (one focused on wrestling) making preparations for those Games, with individuals in said team clashing in ways that end in tragedy.
It’s based on a true story, so some might well know howFoxcatcheris going to end before the film itself ends, but even then, it’s still devastating and appropriately grim. Itmakes a true story feel remarkably intenseand persistently disquieting,with the overall atmosphere ofFoxcatcherfeeling gray, bleak, and even desolate throughout the film, and not just once the particularly downbeat final act starts.
Foxcatcher
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5’The Wrestler' (2008)
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofskyhas proven himself time and again willing to tackle difficult subjects in his films,sometimes in mind-bending waysand, at other times, doing so with harsh realism.The Wrestlerfalls into the latter category, feeling quite grounded by Aronofsky’s standards, but nevertheless being harrowing and remarkably sad at some points with its exploration of aging, the fleetingness of fame, and the eternal struggle that is seeking redemption.
It’s a movie that often feels like watching reality play out, owing to the way it looks and how naturalistic all the performances are.This makesThe Wrestlereven more challenging when it decides to get emotionally intense, because it’s easy to get swept up in the story and hope that things will turn out alright… even if it looks increasingly less likely that that’ll happen with every passing scene.
The Wrestler
4’The Iron Claw' (2023)
Director: Sean Durkin
Taking a true story that was so tragic it actuallyhad to be made less relentless on screenbecause it would’ve otherwise risked seeming implausible,The Iron Clawmakes other dramas about fighting/wrestling and family – like the aforementionedThe FighterandThe Wrestler– look sunny by comparison. TheVon Erichbrothers are the focus here, withThe Iron Clawshowing how tough they had it, trying to make it in the world of professional wrestling while trying to please a seemingly unpleasable father.
It is a very compelling movie, and perhaps one of themost emotionally powerful of the 2020s so far, butThe Iron Clawis undeniably depressing, but it has to be, with the story it aims to retell. There are themes surrounding perseverance and overcoming grief that help ensure the movie finds a somewhat bittersweet note to end on,but the journey there is about as harrowing as sports movies get.
The Iron Claw
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3’The Hustler' (1961)
Director: Robert Rossen
Boasting great performances fromthe likes ofPaul Newman,Piper Laurie,andGeorge C. Scott,The Hustleris understandably one of the most acclaimed sports movies of all time. The central sport explored here is pool, with Newman’s character being an ambitious and rebellious hustler who finds himself in a match against another (highly skilled and well-renowned) player.
There’s also a romance story here, but it’s one with a tragic ending owing to just how intensely focused on pool the protagonist is, above all else. WithThe Hustler,there’s technically a victory at the end of the main game that’s being built to, but it doesn’t feel very victorious. It ends with a sense of emptiness and an overall feeling that it was all for nothing, making it all surprisingly downbeat and distressing for a movie about pool.
The Hustler
2’Million Dollar Baby' (2004)
Director: Clint Eastwood
Standing as one of the greatest films inClint Eastwood’s extensive body of work,Million Dollar Babyfunctions like an underdog sports movie until it’s not. It is harsh and realistic as a look at the world of boxing, following a young woman who’s trained by an older man, both doing all they can – even if it’s not enough – to have the former go pro.
Building towards a surprisingly dark ending,Million Dollar Babyis super effective as a sports drama, even if it’s ultimately going to make you feel pretty miserable by the time it’s all over and done with. It highlights the way that sometimes, you don’t get what you want, and drives this message home within the confines of the sports genre in an unrelenting way.Fittingly, for a movie about boxing, it is possible to feel likeMillion Dollar Babypummels you into submission emotionally.
Million Dollar Baby
1’Raging Bull' (1980)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Raging Bullis, at its core, about a man who gradually brings about his own downfall, destroying everything good in his life until nothing’s really left.ThisMartin Scorsese-directed filmis an expertly made 20th-century tragedy, and it’s made all the more grim by the fact that it’s about a real-life boxer:Jake LaMotta, whose aggressiveness helped him in the ring but brought about misery outside it.
It’s very intense, owing to the performances by the likes ofRobert De NiroandJoe Pesci, and isn’t afraid to have a central character who’s thoroughly unlikable, but also distressingly human.Raging Bullhas everything it needs to bea pretty much perfect dramatic character study, and it’s an absolutely exhausting movie to watch emotionally(in a good way; the distressing nature of the film is clearly intentional).
