Movie Review

The Cinderella Man

"Cinderella Man,? as you may have guessed from the trailer, is this year?s "Seabiscuit.? It tells the true story of boxer Jim Braddock (Russell Crowe), a decent and hardworking man who has never lost a match in his career. This lifestyle has bought a nice home for his wife Mae (Renee Zellweger) and their children, but as he gets older he becomes slower and more prone to injuries.

After one fight that results in a draw, the boxing commission revokes Braddock?s license because he just can't handle the ring anymore. The Great Depression is four years in at this point, leaving Braddock with no other way to support his family but to hope he gets picked to work the docks. That is not always a guarantee, especially considering he broke his right hand during his last fight. Soon the family has no other way to pay the electric and heating bills. There is even a point when Mae is faced with the choice of sending her children to live with her relatives.

Just when it seems like all hope was lost, his manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti), who never ceased to support Jim, gave him a chance at redemption ? an undercard fight with a leading contender who is projected to whip Braddock in two rounds. Not so! Braddock destroys his contender, ruining his chance of fighting the heavyweight contender Max Baer (Craig Bierko). Baer, who is the only other boxer in this movie who is given any backstory (he killed two guys in the ring), is the Goliath of this story. He is younger, faster, and cockier, with fists as strong as baseball bats, so it should be no surprise that Braddock's continued win streak leads him to Baer's table for a title fight.

"Cinderella Man" is probably the least original and most predictable movie of the year, but so what? It proves that true greatness does not come from not knowing what will happen next, but by being so enamored in each moment that you don't even stop to think about what will happen next. This is not just a boxing picture. This is a movie about a man with tremendous spirit, dedication, love, and dignity, all things that Russell Crowe embodies so beautifully. As you see all the obstacles piling up on Jimmy, with the depression, breaking his hand, license revocation, a wife and children who desperately need him, you think that a lesser man would not have been able to take it. That he manages to work through all this is not just admirable; it's damn incredible. I remember sitting back in my chair in astonishment thinking that this man must be cursed.

He has an incredible will. One great scene in particular has Braddock go back to the rich boxing commissioners and beg for money. This is only after taking out a loan, working the docks with a broken hand, and doing everything else in his power to put food on the table. This is not a scene of weakness but of great strength, a man who is willing to put all pride on the line to save his family. Another scene worth mentioning is one in which Braddock's young son steals a sausage from a butcher shop out of fear that if Braddock can't feed the family, the children will be sent away. Braddock marches the kid back to the butcher shop and then makes a promise that the children will never be sent away. The character is a gem and no one could put forth the strength as well as the selfless kindness and decency like Russell Crowe does here. This is probably his best performance ever, definitely worthy of an Oscar nomination at least.

Craig Bierko, Renee Zellweger, and the outstanding Paul Giamatti also put in their two cents. Bierko plays Baer like a jerk with a grim reaper complex. He is the complete opposite of Braddock, a guy with cold eyes and a big mouth who has no problem putting any opponent down. The portrayal has actually drawn complaints from Baer's younger son, who oddly enough played Jethro on "The Beverly Hillbillies" (wow, the apple really fell far from the tree there). The portrayal may be a bit over the top, but it works as a piece of fiction in helping us root for Braddock even more.

Zellweger's constantly supportive and loving wife doesn't require her to do much, but she works very well with Russell Crowe. And then we come to Paul Giamatti, the criminally neglected actor who deserves so much more respect from Hollywood than he actually gets. He does a great job of playing off of Crowe and also providing the film with comic relief, but he is also the best trainer since Burgess Meredith in "Rocky.? As far as I'm concerned, the shouting voice you here on the side of the ring is just as much a part of the fight as the fight itself, and Giamatti's voice is the driving force that kicks the adrenaline up another couple notches. This is another guy who definitely deserves an Oscar.

Director Ron Howard also deserves a lot of credit for what he does here. This is his best film in quite while, and an area he particularly shines in are the boxing matches. He captures the roar of the crowd, the bone shattering hits (complete with X-rays of the break), the music, the cuts to the various people cheering for him like his wife or his children at just the right moments, and to top it all off, the emotions of every fight. It all combines together to make something wonderfully thrilling and dramatic, a do or die fight to the finish that may even have you pumping your fists in the air right a long with them.

Apart from the boxing, the set and costume design is also fabulous. This is how you know you have a great movie on your hands folks ? when I start talking about the set and costume design, you can almost guarantee that I'm one step away from wanting the movie to have my children. "Cinderella Man,? much like its main character, is a gem of an underdog story that will leave you feeling as high as a kite upon leaving the theater. It's the best and most heart-wrenching movie of the year, a definitive must see.

Craig's Grade: A

A	10.9%
B	41.8%
C	31.8%
D	15.3%
F	0.3%