This is the scene where the film completely loses its self. Before this the only time that they would sing was when they were performing. They did not just break out in song like some musicals do like Grease or High School Musical, whenever they were performing was when you heard singing throughout the entire film, until this scene.
Aidan and Carmen are on the run and they are now in Los Angeles, so Aidan calls someone he knows in Los Angeles because he needs money. Aidan is a boxer and his friend can get him in an underground boxing fight where watchers place bets on who they think will win and the winner takes most of the money. It’s dangerous, of course as it it not regular boxing but violent where people can be seriously injured or even killed taking those blows to the head, but the man lets Aidan know he would make A LOT more than most others if he won because he’s a white boy and the guys involved in this love to bet against a white boy. Anyway, Aidan does it without telling Carmen (she finds him anyway).
The ENTIRE FILM no one breaks out randomly in song and dance like musical theater until this scene (a scene toward the end of the film) where the man leading the underground fights breaks out in song and everyone around the two dancers breaks out in dance. If the entire film was like this, it would be fine, but to add it in randomly for one scene toward the end, it doesn’t work. That has been the biggest criticism from critics (even those who liked it), Millepied had no clear vision and the film doesn’t know what it wants to be. The actors were phenomenal though.
I also don’t understand why they always release clips of the song in video form instead of just putting the entire scene up with music. It’s stupid. This is not the full song, only the second half. Why not just put the entire thing up? The handling of this film has been so sloppy. I don’t think our dear Paul has even acknowledged this film once so far.