He's the "Cinderella" Boy! Crowe/Zellweger/Giamatti & Howard score a k.o.; one of the year's best films.

Rating: 10/10 (6 June 2005)

Cinderella MAN (2005) **** Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, Craig Bierko, Paddy Considine, Bruce McGill, Connor Price, Ariel Waller, Patrick Louis, Rosemarie De Witt, Linda Kash, Nicholas Campbell. (Dir: Ron Howard)
He's the "Cinderella" Boy! Crowe/Zellweger/Giamatti & Howard score a k.o.; one of the year's best films.
The underdog's story, particularly a sport underdog's story, has been an old Hollywood chestnut including "Rocky", "Hoosiers", and "Seabiscuit" to name three  which center on perceived losers (or losing situations) to stand up to all odds and remarkably comeback out of nowhere to win the fight, the game or the race. Add "Cinderella Man" the latest underdog to make a comeback in cinematic history and a sure shot at next year's Oscar race.
Based on the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction account of heavyweight champion boxer James J. Braddock (played with stoic restraint and dignity by Crowe in another nod for Best Actor)  "The Bulldog of Bergen" (that's North Bergen, NJ)- of the 1920s whose perfect world as a fine boxer and a dedicated family man comes to a crushing halt when The Great Depression hits leaving him with practically nothing. The ultimate survival tale begins as Braddock makes every attempt to keep his family together with the help of his kind, loving wife Mae (Zellweger in an equally low-key yet affective turn) who promise not to let their three young children get sent away with other family (a sure sign of failure; not even providing for your family would be considered a sin) no matter what happens.
With bills stacking and dock work slim Braddock finally caves into apply for welfare and eventually back to his manager Joe Gould (Giamatti in a wonderfully plucky supporting role) where, hat in hand, asks for a handout to the big-wigs in the fighting game who ruled Braddock out of his boxing license years earlier when a match went badly (Braddock broke his right hand  his main weapon of defense strategy  with a green opponent that many thought he was pulling his punches for a lame event). Gould eventually is able to secure his friend an undercard match earmarked as his goodbye to the public. What then happens begins his fateful journey from bum palooka to Cinderella Man.
Braddock wins the bout with unlikely luck and skill (many figuring he'd be knocked out since he hadn't fought in 18 months but his use of his left hand on the docks only strengthened him) and appears to be the real deal for a comeback. Gould gets his boy in serious training and the family gets back on track to better days to come. All leading to the historical fight with the world champ Max Baer (played with gusto and menace by Bierko), who infamously killed two of his opponents in the ring.
With insurmountable odds and an easy metaphor for redemption and The American Dream being alive amidst its worst hour, Braddock wins his right to be proclaimed one of America's most heroic athletic comebacks in its fairy-tale like juxtaposition and outcome as a champion prizefighter once again.
Excellent production design by Wynn Thomas, period detailed costuming by Daniel Orlandi, sepia toned cinematography by Salvatore Totino and kinetic editing by Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill make every punch thrown deliver with neck-snapping deftness.
Howard continues to be a consummate filmmaker by imbuing his actors with the right amount of letting them work their magic and manipulating their crafts to suit the needs of the storyline. While it would've been another story in another director's hands, Howard lets his actors flesh out their characters with nuance and humanity (and humility) with equal parts heartbreaking humiliation and heart-in-the-throat old school Hollywood thematics  family bonding, requiem for a heavyweight and Capraesque appeal for the common man. As a trivia note, I live near the park that was named after the boxer in New Jersey's hometown of North Bergen and couldn't be prouder to have one of Jersey's own depicted with class, distinction and universal appeal. One of the year's best films.