Girlfight (Criterion Collection) (Blu-ray)

Bullied by her father at home and feeling adrift at school, Diana Guzman (Michelle Rodriguez) finds refuge in an unexpected pocket of her native Brooklyn-a timeworn boxing gym, where she learns to channel her strength, discovers a sense of community, and falls for a rival fighter. In Karyn Kusama's raw, understated feature debut, Rodriguez commands the screen with both tightly coiled intensity and deep wells of vulnerability as a young woman hitting back at society's expectations and her own personal demons. Capturing the full emotional weight of Diana's journey and the kinetic thrill of bodies in motion, Kusama crafts a singularly uncompromising story of self-realization.

Starring: Michelle Rodriguez, Jamie Tirelli, Paul Calderon, Santiago Douglas, Ray Santiago, Victor Sierra, Elisa Bocanegra, Shannon Walker Williams, Louis Guss, Herb Lovelle

Director: John Sayles

Rating: R