Melodrama, but melodrama at its very best

Rating: Null/10 (3 August 2005)

(watched in Toronto)
Based on the life of heavyweight champion James Braddock (Russell Crowe), Cinderella Man is a semi-fictional tale told in simple, good old fashion narrative form, a story on courage and human dignity in face of adversity. After a brief opening scene of Braddock at the height of fame and fortune, the movie losses no time is plunging him right into the vicissitudes during the Depression era, when, suffering from a broken hand, he can hardly bring in enough to feed his family, working as a longshoreman. Director Ron Howard does not shy away from taking us very slowly, in this 2-and-a-half-hour movie, through the most desperate struggles of James and Mae (Renee Zellweger) Braddock. The second half of the movie is on Braddock's miraculous comeback, "from the breadline to contesting for the heavyweight championship title within a year" thereby becoming the inspiration for people losing all hope during the depression.
One could look at this movie as a period piece, against the backdrop of the American Depression era (and many have compared it to "Seabiscuit"). Cinderella Man however can be appreciated without any period reference. Poverty is universal. Not wanting to part with one's family is universal. Courage and human dignity are universal.
With so many pugilistic movies that have gone on before (even Elvis Presley had "Kid Galahad") you would really wonder what Ron Howard could do to make his finale memorable. Well, he did it by going all out, pulling all the plugs. In addition to what is happening in the ring, we see Braddock's children huddled in a basement cell listening to the radio broadcast of the match, against their mother's explicit prohibition (but soon joined by aunts and grannies, and a resigning mother). We also see Braddock's fans gathered around the radio in pubs as well as in church, and in the latter case the priest shadow-boxing at the critical moments, completely absorbed in the match. These cross cuttings have a multiplier effect (pardon an economic term) on what we see happening in the ring, pushing the audience to one emotional height after another, culminating in a gloriously uplifting finale.
But the fight is actually over at around the middle of the movie. When Braddock stoops so low as to go, cap-in-hand, to the plush club where his former acquaintances have gathered to beg for nineteen dollars so that his kids do not have to be sent away to live with relatives, he has ironically reached the pinnacle of his dignity. The movie clearly shows this, as we see after this scene a changed man in Braddock, confident, truly cheerful but gentle and loving as ever. He has already won the fight.
Crowe is not among my favourite male leads but this all-goodness persona he has adopted for this movie is truly likable. Inimitable Zellweger provides solid support and has good chemistry with Crowe. Better still is the spark between Crowe and Paul Giamatti playing his manager. The relationship is somewhat similar to (but not entirely alike) that between Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman's characters in "Million Dollar Baby", a professional relationship forming the basis of genuine friendship. If I were a betting man, I would put my money of Giamatti getting at least a best supporting nomination for this year's Oscar, if not winning it.