Plot and Theme

Rating: 7/10 (23 April 2017)

Cinderella Man starring Russell Crowe as James J. Braddock tells the story of Braddock's boxing life, and his riches to rags with a comeback to riches. His wife Renée Zellweger as Mae Braddock sticks by his side through it all even though she despises him boxing and risking injury. Paul Giamatti plays the role as Joe Gould who is James Braddock's manager. James was a successful boxer and lived a wealthy lifestyle for the late 1920's. He was a professional and boxing was his primary source of income. His time in the ring began to take a toll on his body, which is why Mae refused to watch him fight.
James was proud and refused to ask for pity or accept defeat. He had broken his right hand and struggled winning matches. He wasn't as strong with his left and began to lose more than win. Eventually, James wasn't providing the hype that promoters wanted for his fights, and they revoked his boxing commission. This layoff happened as our country entered the great depression, and finding work was hard. No matter the situation James faced, he fought for his family. The struggles of providing food and milk, paying the electric, or even having firewood for sufficient heat were stacking against him. James found work on a loading dock that never guaranteed daily employment but wasn't making enough to pay his dues. Mae had worried about their three children getting sick, and sent them to her sisters for temporary keeping. Sending his kids away for support had broken James down, and he eventually asked for help, from the government assistance and his former boxing pals who seemed to be living in success. Throughout the movie, James never stopped fighting for his family, and he struggled to find work and support them ever way he could. Through it, all James and Mae stick together.
The use of low key lighting throughout this movie built on the theme and helped the viewer feel the struggles of the Braddock family. The life struggles during the great depression lacked excitement and avoiding the use of vibrant lighting in the room was bright for the theme. Throughout the movie, the background sounds used to build on the scene and feel more than what we see I thought was unique. In a scene of Central Park where families lived in shacks, you hear the cries of people in the background of the scene shown. This same technique was also used in the fight scenes, and we heard the background of the radio announcers and crowds cheering while we watched the match. The theme is like the movie "IP Man" which has a man fighting for his family, either in a ring or at work.
James' manager, Joe, visits him to offer him a previous fight against a number two contender as a "goodbye" to Madison Square Garden. James accepts the fight for the cash offer, which didn't sit well with Mae. She visits Joe out of frustration of him profiting on James risking injury. She learns that Joe was also struggling during the hard times and only acted to living wealthy. The fight was not in James' favor, however, in a stunning defeat, James wins by a knockout. Slowly James has been offered new fights which he continued to win. He had claimed milk was his motivation for his success, which few people understood. James had gone on to winning the champion title against a brutal opponent. No matter his struggles in life, James fought for success to take care of what was most important to him.