The Boxer is a film set in Northern Ireland dealing with two types of violence, worlds apart. That which propagates conflict and another ritualised type of violence that well may help to bring peace, at least within the main character.

Day-Lewis and Watson are young lovers, separated for 14 years when Day-Lewis is imprisoned for IRA related violence. When he is finally released, he takes up boxing as an unlikely alternative to the type of violence that saw him imprisoned in the first place. Within boxing he finds an unusual remedy for the conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. It seems that the matches bring together these two feuding groups through the love of the same sport. He also meets up again with his former girlfriend, but this relationship is complicated by the fact that she has an estranged husband already imprisoned. Their relationship, however, still manages to find a place in the midst of claims of treason and betrayal.

This film came from many of the same people responsible for In the Name of the Father and My Left Foot, and anyone going to this film can expect no less commitment to constructing an honest and intelligent film experience. In fact, it is even rumoured that Day-Lewis trained as a boxer for four years prior to this film to prepare for the role. No prior interest or knowledge of the conflict in Northern Ireland is required to get something out of this film, as it is above all a story of human conflict and relationships.