Morley is a woman you don’t want to
mess with. First of all she’s from New Jersey and as former resident of the
Garden State I know from personal experience how tough they make them out
there. Secondly she was an actress, I’m not sure of another profession that
will thicken your skin faster than professional acting, the constant rejection
and disappointment makes it a career path not for the faint of heart. And last
but certainly not the least of the reasons to not screw with Jill, she’s a boxer.
Jill set out to make a documentary about
herself training for the Golden Gloves boxing completion but ending up making a
deeply human film about completion and rising above adversity. Her narrative is
the spine of the film but we are also introduced to several other female boxers
and given their stories of how they found their way to the ring.
Full disclosure, I hate fighting.
MMA turns my stomach and I’ve never understood why people find boxing
entertaining. Professional fighting in my estimation has always been akin to something from
Roman times, gladiators killing one another for the amusement of the king. Only
now the king is the box office and pay per view receipts. I say this not to
undercut Jill’s film but because I think it helps to support how truly
remarkable the movie is. I didn’t leave the film with a new found appreciation
of the sport but I certainly have a new found respect for the fighters.
Fight Like A Girl is a deeply human
story that anyone who has survived trauma can relate to. I was completely caught
up by the stories of how these women became fighters and invested emotionally
in way that shocked me. I assumed this would be a film about how female boxing
needs to be on the same playing field as male boxing and respected for more
than just a “side show attraction.” The film does address the inequality between
male and female sports but that’s in no way what this film is about. We are
given something far more personal and impactful, a human story about conquest over
misfortune.
I caught up with Morley while she
was in New Orleans celebrating her tenth anniversary with her husband.
When asked about what got her into
the ring she said
”I realized I better do it before I get too old, so I figured
it was my chance, I used to be an actress, so I didn't want to get my face beat
in when I was acting. Now I'm a filmmaker, so I'm like, I can get my face beat
in."
Morley was inspired by the women she
met while she was training.
"I was learning about them and
I was learning about myself," says Morley. "It was basically that we
were confronting our demons through competitive boxing, and we were using
boxing as a way to heal. Which sounds counterintuitive, because it's known to
be such a violent sport."
Morley says that it's through the training and bonding of the other women, plus the experiences she put herself through while training and fighting, that gives her so much confidence and self-esteem.
Morley goes on to say she was diagnosed with post-traumatic
stress disorder, which she discovered during the sparring with other
boxers, due to repeated flashbacks to abuse she suffered as a child.
"While I had talked about all that
and was at peace with it in my mind, it was still caught in my body," says
Morley. "So I would freeze and not protect myself, or I wouldn't be able
to perform the way I wanted to in the ring, and it was very frustrating because
I'd always been an athlete that had done pretty well at things I set my mind
to. And I was really setting my mind to this, and I was sucking,
terribly."
Jill isn’t a person who dwells in
the past. Despite having every right to do so.
"I try not to tell any horror
stories, cause this isn't a 'poor me' movie, it's more like I got past
it," says Morley. "It's just like how you can get past it too, how
focusing on the present can really improve your life."
Morley talked about the three women
who her film focused on and how fighting relates to confidence and ability."We all kind of were fighting
against ourselves in order to fight for ourselves," says Morley.
"It's kind of the embracing the fight that makes you a good fighter."
The film itself in many ways isn’t
really about fighting. Morley talked about what the film meant to her and the
impact she hopes it will leave. "I also want people to take
away just accepting whatever flaws you have, and working with them, and working
through it," says Morley. "Your self-esteem doesn't have to be about
proving yourself."
When asked about the thing that
makes her the most uncomfortable about watching herself onscreen… “My bad boxing” The film exposes some
of the most raw and painful experiences of this woman’s life and the one thing
she can’t stand to watch is her “bad form.” I think that about sums up Jill.
Her competitive drive and desire to better herself is the fuel that drives her
engine. She is completely comfortable with exposing her emotional scars but
facing a version of herself that couldn’t spar how she does today…. unbearable.
I found Jill as a person to be utterly charming, inspiring and kind it’s a bonus
that such a great person made a film that I love.
The film is currently available for rent or purchase and I highly recommend you check it out. Go to FIGHT LIKE A GIRL for all the details.
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