As a True-Grit Tale of Redemption, Cinderella Man Packs a Punch!

Rating: 9/10 (23 April 2015)

When we first meet our eponymous boxing-hero Jim Braddock (Crowe), he's living the high-life of the roaring '20s as a distinguished boxer. By 1929, after piling up an impressive record in over 40 professional bouts, he lands a title fight. However, what turns out to be worse for his fate than his loss to the champion Tommy Loughran, is the stock market crash later that year, which plunges the country into the Great Depression. Wiped out financially, Braddock and his family - wife Mae (Zellweger) and three kids – are relegated to a cramped basement apartment and he begins to support his family by finding occasional work as a longshoreman. His boxing license is also eventually revoked as our erstwhile champion loses fight after fight and he soon goes on welfare in order to subsist. Soon, his plight becomes a public source of shame, when his being on welfare gets reported in the local tabloids. Somehow summoning up a combination of grace, courage, and confidence in the face of humiliation, Braddock chooses to train again, this time as a heavyweight. When his former manager Joe Gould (Giamatti) gets him a lucrative break as dead-meat for a heavyweight challenger, it kick- starts one of the most remarkable career revivals in sporting history. Beating the odds again and again in a series of surprising upsets, he becomes a source of hope for the common American man by conquering the boxing world, while still struggling through the daily grind of poverty and gets christened as 'Cinderella Man'. With Braddock winning fights in convincing fashion, he is given a shot at the title held by the malicious Max Baer, a vicious fighter who has killed two men in the ring. Does he emerge victorious from this ominous fight, or does this turn out to be the night when the fairytale ends for our 'Cinderella Man'?
Ron Howard's Cinderella Man skillfully delivers a primal, heart- pounding satisfaction as he directs this rousing saga with an admirable sense of restraint, which works to underscore the resilience of characters and allows the actors and the story enough time to breathe. His presentation of the bout is dynamic and tense, not giving into histrionic display. He keeps a consistent, sharp tone throughout, not resorting to any overtly sappy moments which many films of this ilk have a tendency to do. Renee Zellweger rises to the challenge and delivers an earnest performance. A delightfully scene-stealing Paul Giamatti shows us the raw excitable emotions that keep breaking the surface of Gould's fast-talking tough-guy facade. But it is Russell Crowe who steals the show with his towering performance. He adopts a flawless period 'Noo-Yawk' accent, a tough guy attitude, and undergoes a physical transformation to look remarkably like Braddock. But he ensures that the character does not fall into these superficial accoutrements and carries the film forward with a kind of quiet dignity only he can.
As a true-grit tale of redemption, Cinderella Man lands one solid body punch after another!