By all rights, I should have hated this movie. It's directed by Ron Howard, it stars Russell Crowe, and it's about boxing, the most repulsive "sport" there is.
But aside from my queasiness at the boxing scenes, it turned to be a fine movie.
It's the story of James Braddock, a washed-up boxer whose miraculous comeback led all the way to the world heavyweight title, inspiring millions of Americans during the Depression. (Familiar plot, isn't it? It's Seabiscuit with boxing gloves.)
The first hour or so is the best part of the movie; Howard (and screenwriters Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman) do a marvelous job of capturing just how difficult the Depression was for so many families, struggling to make ends meet in the face of constant frustration and humiliation. Once Braddock's comeback begins, the movie can't quite overcome the predictability of the story (after all, no one would be interested in his story if he'd failed to win the title), but it comes closer than I'd expected.
The best performance in the movie comes from Paul Giamatti as Joe Gould, Braddock's trainer; I'd never have thought Giamatti would be convincing in a period piece, but he's well suited to Gould's scrappiness and self-deprecation. Renee Zellweger is also good as Mae Braddock (though her accent wanders all over the place), and she and Crowe are very convincing as a couple, with a solid chemistry and a strong sense of the love between them.
The boxing scenes are well-staged, and the final bout between Braddock and Max Baer (played with just a touch too much obvious villainy by Craig Bierko) is convincing in its exhausting brutality.
I still think that boxing is a foolish and inhumane waste of time, and I can't be entirely enthusiastic about a movie that celebrates it, but if you don't share those qualms, you should enjoy Cinderella Man a great deal.
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