Jake Gyllenhaal plays Billy Hope, a boxer raised in an orphanage in Hell’s Kitchen where he met his wife Maureen (Rachel McAdams). The movie starts when Billy is on top of the world as reigning boxing champion living a lavish lifestyle.
Maureen has always been the loving and sensible one, making the decisions for the family. She is starting to get worried that the boxing is beginning to get Billy punch-drunk and wants him to slow down before he becomes a permanently dribbling mess.