... second to struggle with film (5)
I believe the answer is:
movie
'film' is the definition.
('movie' can be a synonym of 'film')
'second to struggle' is the wordplay.
'second' becomes 'mo' (both are short periods of time).
'to struggle' becomes 'vie' (I've seen this before).
'mo'+'vie'='MOVIE'
'with' is the link.
(Other definitions for movie that I've seen before include "provide entertainment" , "Cinema film (mainly US)" , "Cinema production" , "Gladiator for one" , "Flick" .)