Movie Review: Cinderella Man

Cinderella Man is the second collaboration between director Ron Howard and actor Russell Crowe, the first being the superb A Beautiful Mind. It tells the true story of boxer James Braddock. In the waning years of the Roaring 20's, Braddock is a confident young fighter rapidly ascending the ladder for a shot at the title. His winnings earn him and his family a comfortable life. Braddock rises high enough to earn a title bout, which he loses.

After the loss, his career falls apart, primarily due to injuries. A few years into the Great Depression, Braddock is an embarrassment in the ring and can barely hold on against vastly inferior opposition. His boxing license is revoked and his career appears over. Braddock joins the lines at the docks in a desperate attempt to get some small day's wage to pay the overdue heat and electricity bill and to provide food for his family. When faced with the prospect of having to ship his kids away to live with relatives, Braddock humbles himself by going on public assistance and passing the hat among the boxing bigwigs.

In a fluke reminiscent of the first Rocky, Braddock's second shot comes when the challenger in a highly touted fight drops out and an opponent must be found on short notice. Expected to be little more than a punching bag, Braddock surprises everyone, including himself, by winning in a knockout. There follows a series of fights against more and more highly ranked opponents, in all of which he is the underdog, and all of which he wins.

These victories earn him a totally unexpected second shot at the title, against the fearsome Max Baer. Baer is so brutal that he has killed two men in the ring, and taunts Braddock's wife that he will make her a widow. The final section of the film is, of course, the big battle between the two, which Braddock ultimately wins in a unanimous decision, thereby completing the riches-to-rags-to-riches storyline.

If I was a movie producer, there are three actors I would sell body parts to work with: Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, and Russell Crowe. Crowe does not disappoint here. The character of Braddock could have easily been shallow and simple: a good man with a good punch. As with so many performances, Crowe digs deeper and finds the dignity of the man and creates a rich portrait. As always with Crowe, greatness is in the nuances he brings to the performance: how he walks, how he carries himself, facial expressions, the look in his eye.

Amusing side note that only I may find amusing. In A Beautiful Mind, Crowe gave an absolutely brilliant performance, a workshop on acting. That he got robbed of the Oscar is ridiculous. (I'm not knocking Washington. The reverse holds true for the previous year, when Denzel's Hurricane performance got robbed by Crowe's Gladiator.) There is one flaw, though. There are scenes in the film where Nash takes off his shirt and walks around in a tight, sleeveless undershirt revealing his physique. His is a body more in line with that of a gladiator than a mentally ill academic who spends most of his waking hours in his office or library. In this movie, playing a heavyweight boxer, he sports a pretty scrawny physique. I've read that he got down to a mere 176 pounds for the role, not exactly powerful looking. (Compare that to the 220 or so that Will Smith was at for Ali.) Maybe it's accurate, it just doesn't look right. So, in A Beautiful Mind, he had the body of a boxer, and in Cinderella Man, he has the body of an academic.

Anyway, the rest of the cast gives top notch performances as well, particularly Paul Giamatti who continues to prove he is the most overlooked actor in the business. Renée Zellwegger's role really isn't all that well written. She has a good scene or two, but is otherwise the typical wife who stands by her man and loves him. Technically the film is excellent. Great photography, great sets and costumes. The film doesn't flow smoothly. It drags in places and probably could do with another round of editing.

There is one area where Howard and his team do a very good job with the editing. Braddock's comeback is driven primarily by a need to make money to support his family. But, unlike so many lesser directors, Howard does not beat us over the head with that. In one fight, at a pivotal moment, Howard brings up images of Braddock's kids and past due notices to remind the viewer that's what he's all about. With that, he makes his point and moves on. Lesser directors would have had Braddock rallying in every fight; just when it looked like he was going to fall, he thought of his kids and unleashed a barrage that brought victory. Howard shows his maturity as a director by avoiding that trap.

Another side note, this time about the writing. Max Baer comes off in the film as a brutal, arrogant fighter. He taunts Braddock in and out of the ring through his wife. He is comfortable with having killed two men in the ring, and threatens to make the Braddock the third. (This makes his behavior after the fight, when he graciously congratulates Braddock on the win and just leaves the ring, incongruous.) The real Max Baer was quite a different man. He only killed one man in the ring, and was haunted by it for the rest of his life. He gave money to the wife of the man he killed, Frankie Campbell, and helped put his kids through college. Though a Catholic, he became a hero to American Jews by wearing a star of David on his trunks when he fought the German Max Schmeling, who was misleadingly portrayed as a Nazi hero. I don't watch films based on true stories expecting a history lesson, so I don't have a problem with the writers reinventing Max for the film. It certainly makes for better drama, and Craig Bierko did a fine job portraying him. It's just something that viewer should keep in mind.

If the film is so good, and it really is, why did it flop so badly? First off, who came up with the brilliant strategy of releasing a character-driven, adult drama up at the beginning of the summer movie season where it will complete with myriad mindless action flicks, not to mention Star Wars? Can I get that job? Get paid millions to make stupid decisions like that?

It also hurts that in recent years, we have seen several boxing related films. Hurricane, Ali, Million Dollar Baby stand out. Boxing lends itself well to movies, both because of the action and because it allows filmmakers to tell the type of story they love to tell, that of the underdog who finds it in himself to rise above his or her circumstances and make something of themselves. But that story can only be told a certain number of times. As well acted and produced as the film is, Cinderella Man comes off as Rocky (underdog rises above all expectations, finding something deeper in himself) meets Million Dollar Baby (boxing to feed oneself, underdog rises above all expectations, finding something deeper in herself), with photographic nod to Raging Bull (fight scenes), and never really rises above them. It is a better acted and directed version of Rocky, a less emotionally manipulative version of Million Dollar Baby.

Will the film get a boatload of nominations? Sure, and it should. Crowe, Giamatti, maybe even Bierko for acting, Howard for directing, plus cinematography and best picture.