Today Netflix debuted the trailer for Bruised, a mixed martial arts drama starring Academy Award winner Halle Berry.
According to a report in Variety, the film, which is also Berry’s debut as a director, premiered last year at the Toronto Film Festival. Netflix then paid $20 million for the worldwide distribution rights, with Sierra/Affinity responsible for international.
Produced by Basil Iwanyk, Bruised is the story of Jackie Justice (Halle Berry), a mixed martial arts fighter who leaves her sport in disgrace. After years of regret from her last fight, she agrees to a brutal underground fight negotiated by her boyfriend and manager Desi (Adam Canto) in order to win her way to a life back in the MMA as promised by a fight league promoter (Shamier Anderson). Her journey to prominence becomes even more complicated as she attempts to reconcile with her son Manny (Danny Boyd, Jr.), whom she gave up as an infant.
The trailer features Berry battered after an agonizing defeat. The Oscar-winning actress immersed herself into the role and ended up breaking two of her ribs during filming. “It was kind of a crazy injury,” Stunt coordinator Eric Brown told Entertainment Weekly in August. “But that was just her intensity—Halle’s a special case. I’ve worked with tons of actors, and almost none of them have that kind of work ethic.”
Bruised, which also stars Valentina Shevchenko, Adriane Lenox, Stephen McKinley Henderson and Sheila Atina, premieres on Netflix on November 24. Check out the trailer below.
