CINDERELLA MAN (PG-13) ****

 

Directed by Ron Howard. 144 minutes.

Starring Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, Craig Bierko and Bruce McGill. Released by Universal Pictures.

 

There is something about the sport of boxing that is very cinematic. In recent years, there have been an onslaught of films about boxers, but they have been continually good and I have not found myself getting tired of that final round of the final bout in the ring. The sport lends itself well to films because the boxer does not rely on teammates and the only person to whom he must prove himself is himself. Boxing is a very physical sport – after all, what is more physical than being pounded in the head and punched in the gut. However, I would guess that most of the fight in a boxing match takes place in a boxer’s head. The athlete has to know what his opponent will do. He must watch his every move and react ahead of him.

 

In Cinderella Man, which is a great boxing movie, James J. Braddock (Russell Crowe) is a fighter, alright, and possibly the nicest guy you might ever know. Braddock may be old for his profession, slightly washed up and occasionally taking a beating, but his bouts in the boxing ring are nowhere near the battle he fights outside of the ring. At the film’s beginning, he is on his way up in the world of boxing. This is in 1929, but then we jump ahead four years and Braddock is a victim of the Great Depression. The pride that comes with winning a match is the furthest thing from his mind. His fights are a fight to keep his family fed.

 

Renee Zellweger plays Mae Braddock, James’ wife, who knows there is no other way than for her husband to step into the ring to earn their daily bread, but refuses to listen to the radio or attend the matches. She does not like to see James get hit in the face. Braddock has two young sons and a little daughter and promises them they will not be sent away to relatives because of the Depression. When he is not boxing, Braddock stands in bread lines and waits for work at the docks, but is barely picked.

 

Braddock is more like Maggie Fitzgerald, the heroine of last year’s Million Dollar Baby than he is like the boxers in other great boxing films, such as Raging Bull, Ali, Body and Soul, The Hurricane or Fat City. Maggie said fighting was her dream, but it was also her escape from poverty. Braddock’s fight has nothing to do with the challenge of the sport. He is a proud man in the sense that he will not accept that he cannot provide for his family, but not so proud that he will not approach former employers, head lowered, and ask for money, which you know he will pay back. Braddock does not have a cocky swagger. He is simply a good man. Take, for instance, a scene where his son steals from a local butcher. Braddock is, at first, stern with his son, but then watch quickly he becomes sympathetic toward him.

 

This could have posed a problem, Braddock being such a nice guy. Typically, characters with a heart of gold are just not as interesting as the ones with a couple of skeletons in the closet. Yet, Russell Crowe, a great actor in virtually every film he makes, not only causes us to care for Braddock because he is a good guy, but his portrayal of the man’s determination creates an interesting character. This is the second time the actor has worked with director Ron Howard, and the two of them make magic. The last time around, Howard directed Crowe in his best performance to date – A Beautiful Mind – and, with Cinderella Man; he has provided him with another of his finest.

 

Zellweger is also convincing as Braddock’s wife, though it is a difficult role. Mae is supposed to be completely supportive of her husband, yet, at the same time, try to convince him to quit boxing. But then she must rely on him as a breadwinner. Paul Giamatti, quickly becoming one of my favorite actors, gives great supporting work as Joe Gould, Braddock’s trainer, who appears equally conflicted with arranging fights. On the one hand, he knows Braddock needs the money to feed his family. On the other, it is likely difficult for him to arrange a fight against Max Baer (Craig Bierko), who previously killed two men in the ring and is quick to brag about it.

 

Braddock’s character is tied to the Depression, not only because he obviously fought during that time, but also because he was a source of inspiration to the downtrodden. Whether he inspired people to the extent that Cinderella Man implies is probably debatable, but Braddock became a symbol of victory against the Depression, and Russell Crowe pulls off the trick of making the character an average guy who comes to stand for something larger to a lot of average people. If you look at another sports movie that opened on the same day as the film – Lords of Dogtown, you can see the difference between a great period sports drama and a mediocre one. Dogtown gets the look, feel and sound of the era right, but keeps its characters at a distance, while Cinderella Man gets into the head of its characters, much like Braddock gets into the head of his opponents.