A Fighter With Heart

Rating: 9/10 (20 January 2006)

Ron Howard's biographical account of the "comeback" of James Braddock, a Depression era boxer who briefly found himself poor and out of favor with the boxing commission (and the public) after having reached the zenith of his fame in the 1920s, is a truly inspiring story. Although I am not a boxing fan, and do not generally voluntarily see boxing films (ie. I was forcibly taken to see "Million Dollar Baby" by a family member, and still have not seen a "Rocky" film or "Raging Bull."), I had heard wonderful things about "Cinderella Man" and decided to give the film the benefit of the doubt. I am so happy that I did! This film is appealing on so many levels. At its core, it is more about love and family, and the sacrifices couples make for each other and their children than it is about boxing. Even the scenes that take place within the ring pack emotional punch (no pun intended), and are moving.
The match between Max Bauer and James Braddock is particularly well shown, and I found myself enthralled in their monumental struggle, which is shown as being a kind of David and Goliath conflict. As a result, I put aside for a few minutes my social objections to boxing, and found myself cheering for the "Cinderella Man". Russell Crowe brings the same Oscar worthy caliber of acting that he did to his role of Maximus in "Gladiator" and John Nash in "A Beautiful Mind", allowing the audience to identify and sympathize with James Braddock. By the end of the film, one is made to care about the character, and the plight of his family.
It is a pity that this film made only $50 million in box office sales, because it deserved far more, making it perhaps the most underrated film of 2005.