Film Review: QUEEN OF THE RING (2024): Emily Bett Rickards Delivers a Fine Performance in Ash Avildsen’s Rousing Biopic
Queen of the Ring Review
Queen of the Ring (2024) Film Review, a movie directed by Ash Avildsen, written by Alston Ramsay, Jeff Leen and Ash Avildsen and starring Emily Bett Rickards, Josh Lucas, Tyler Posey, Walton Goggins, Francesca Eastwood, Marie Avgeropoulos, Kailey Farmer, Cara Buono, Gavin Casalegno, Adam Demos, Deborah Ann Woll, Kelli Berglund, Damaris Lewis, Martin Kove, James E. Cornette and Jett Jansen.
Ash Avildsen, the son of Rocky director, John G. Avildsen, has crafted one of the most rousing crowd-pleasers of the year with the fascinating and fast-paced female wrestling drama, Queen of the Ring. Set primarily in the 1950’s, the movie is peppered with fun songs from the era and features a concluding end-credits sequence that offers tidbits on the female boxers and people involved in the film and showcases a powerhouse tune. This movie is commandeered by the amazing performance by Emily Bett Rickards who plays Mildred ‘Millie’ Burke, the single mother who is the central character the film focuses on.
Queen of the Ring opens with Millie, a single mother waiting tables alongside her own mom while hoping to get a shot at something bigger in her life, namely female wrestling which was frowned upon and highly illegal at the time. Millie was a woman with high ambitions who believed she had something more to offer than the world was allowing her to in her current state at the beginning of the film. Josh Lucas plays Billy Wolfe, the man with the connections to make things happen for Millie who enters her life and ultimately abuses her in heart-wrenching ways over the course of the picture. Tyler Posey plays the young G. Bill. It turns out G. Bill is also fascinated by Millie as well while Gavin Casalegno earnestly portrays Joe Jr., Millie’s son.
Of course, if nothing else, this movie serves as a compelling piece of history which gives audiences a look at the female wrestlers who existed during the time the movie chronicles. Francesca Eastwood’s Mae Young, Deborah Ann Woll’s Gladys Gillem and Damaris Lewis’s Babs Wingo are fascinating characters as portrayed by the actresses at hand and the wrestling scenes feel authentic as do the sequences set around the politics and finances behind the coordination of the events that take place within the context of the film. Walton Goggins is also well-cast as Jack Pfefer who played a pivotal role in the events that the movie chronicles.
Emily Bett Rickards is a force of nature in the movie’s single best performance. She expertly plays off Josh Lucas’s appropriately slimy Billy Wolfe who bruises Millie’s face in one of the most upsetting scenes in the film. Lucas plays against type in his believable turn as the actor carefully shows the character’s two-sided nature. This is one of Lucas’s most interesting performances thanks to the actor’s dedication to his craft and his ability to show the complexity of the character he portrays here. In support, Tyler Posey and Galvin Casalegno succeed as they play the younger guys who try to support the respective challenges Millie faces throughout the picture. Adam Demos all but steals the show in his excellent scenes as Gorgeous George Wagner, a prolific talent at the time the movie centers itself around.
The sheer fact that this movie is from the director of Rocky‘s son is an amazing feat in and of itself. This movie would make a good companion piece to Rocky as well. Queen of the Ring is a story full of human drama and behind-the-scenes dilemmas that eventually leads to the splitting of leadership and two sides of representation for the female wrestlers showcased in the movie. There are also the complexities of the at-home battles that Millie suffers and the in-the-ring fights that make her strive for perseverance and strength against formidable obstacles.
At almost two hours and 20 minutes, the movie doesn’t feel sugarcoated and remains an inspirational piece of film-making. It feels totally relatable as the women try to find names for themselves in their chosen field of specialization and try to break new ground in the sports arena even if it means taking a beating in the name of female liberation. Queen of the Ring is layered and complex as a dramatic story and doesn’t lessen the intensity of the story line by making it simply Millie’s story. This film becomes all the wrestlers’ stories.
Queen of the Ring is one of the year’s best finds. It didn’t have an enormous ad campaign or large theatrical release, but deserves to be seen. Rickards adds passion and determination to Millie that make her one of the most inspiring characters to grace the silver screen this year as a real-life hero who triumphed against the odds and was recognized after her death for her unstoppable determination. Don’t miss the chance to see the rousing Queen of the Ring which marks a very promising future for director Ash Avildsen.
Rating: 8/10
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