A Knock Out Story

Rating: 9/10 (3 May 2016)

This is a classic story that you see someone go from nothing at all to having success and having everything he could imagine. James Braddock (Russel Crowe), a once proud and successful boxer had the glory and won every bout he ever fought. With the difficult time with the Great Depression and the injured hand he had, it was really hard for him to fight and let alone even get booked for a fight. This lead James to take odd jobs just to make ends meet to take home to his wife Mae Braddock (Renee Zellweger) and family. This lead James to go to his promoter Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti) to do anything to get back into the ring. Joe went ahead and finally got James booked for a fight. Unfortunately, James had to fight the number two contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. Everyone in the boxing world didn't give James a shot to win. He proved everyone dead wrong. By gaining a victory, that put him in position for a championship bout. Again being the underdog, he rose to the occasion to become the World Heavyweight Champion. He overcame all the odds to find new found glory and this time he had time to enjoy and soak it in.
I feel that this movie had a reference towards Rocky. Not just because it is about boxing, but it also has that feel good success story element to the film. It also has a feel with the kind of cities that they grew up in. James lived in a rough part of New Jersey and Rocky was in a hard environment of Philadelphia. One last thing is how and where they did their training. They both had dimly lit gyms, old gear, and a ring that looked like it was on its last leg. The only difference about the two would be the time of history that these two movies took place.
The one element that I would say about Cinderella Man would be the lighting. During his decline of fame, everything had a dark feeling. James and Mae's house was the perfect example. They went without power and ran their house with candles. Secondly, the gym that he was training in. It just had a feeling of sadness and hardships. On the other hand, the movie had great lighting at times. Once he found his glory again, it was camera flashes, big time arena crowds, and an overall positive attitude. Next, I would have to say that the motif was a good element to the movie. It kept on showing the crowds at different bouts and his difficult living conditions.
Overall, I found this to be a great movie. This shows that anything can be accomplished when you put the work and force into anything to want to do in life. It all comes down to the old saying, if you want it, go get it.