Cinderella Man
Those of us who lived and suffered through the Obama Recession truly have NO idea what it was like to go through the REAL Great Depression of the 1930s, when people starved to death on the streets and violence amongst the squalor was an everyday occurrence.Ā This film from 2005, intended to be an Oscar contender but overlooked due to poor box office possibly stemming from a title that made people think it was a gay angst story, tells the story of Jim Braddock, an up and coming boxing contender of the late 20s who saw his career and finances evaporate after the Stock Market Crash and practically lived on the streets, before getting an out of the blue opportunity to fight again (as a last minute replacement) in Madison Square Garden and succeeding there, to getting a shot at the World Heavyweight Title and bringing hope to the disenfranchised masses who badly needed a hero at that point.Ā As played by Russell Crowe, it certainly comes across as an effortlessly brilliant performance, projecting a common man quality in a character who had an uncommon toughness in the ring, and the fact that Crowe was overlooked for a Best Actor Nomination is truly a travesty.Ā The real issue comes from director Ron Howard and his usual screenwriter Akiva Goldsman: As with other films (particularly A Beautiful Mind) they resort to cheap sentiment in order to manipulate the viewer with a false sense of emotion (such as having Braddock flash back to a āpast dueā notice in the middle of a fight), and worse, present the character of the World Boxing Champion Max Baer (Craig Bierko) as an evil bastard extraordinaire, boastfully proud of the fact that he has killed two men in the ring and telling Braddock to his face that heās gonna kill him too, all the while making advances towards Braddockās wife in a nightclub.Ā This caused controversy and raised the ire of the real life Baerās family (including his son who had played Jethro on The Beverly Hillbillies) who stated that their father had suffered tremendously for the remainder of his wife over the men who had died at his hands, being plagued by nightmares and alcoholism as a result.Ā All this, of course, is to put over the dynamic that Braddockās wife (Renee Zellweger) is terribly frightened over what could happen to her husband in the ring and leave her a widow like a dock worker friend of his (Paddy Considine) who dies trying to organize a union rally that turned ugly and resulted in him being trampled (another unnecessary subplot).Ā That being said, there can be little doubt that the production values in a Howard film are almost always exquisite with the cinematography, editing, and costumes that bring the depressing era to life and drive it home like few other films could and as for the rest of the cast, Zellweger as the wife keeps her usual screwy face mugging to a minimum and scores points as the supportive wife; Paul Giamatti (who DID score a Supporting Actor nod) as Braddockās loyal manager is a lot of fun to watch especially when he acts more hyped up to fight the champ himself than even Braddock does; Bierko is suitably intimidating and frightening as Baer; Considine annoys more than anything as he rambles about how unions will save America; and Bruce McGill as the heartless promoter who first revokes Braddockās boxing license and later has to be talked into letting him fight again is effective as well.Ā In all, itās about the emotional weight that Crowe invests the character with that carries the show here, from lecturing his son that he is not to steal food even if they are starving, to the comeback fights themselves, where Braddock gets one shock win after another until the big showdown with the champ, which while in some ways makes it a more conventional sports movie, nonetheless makes the viewer appreciate the real life story more and its place in sports history.Ā Overall, a beautifully made, very well acted piece that didnāt need the short cuts in the script to get its point acrossā¦
8/10