Solid biopic with great performances

Rating: 7/10 (30 January 2006)

The fact that this film is based on real-life events makes it all the more astonishing. I would still advise all people wanting to see this to know as little as possible about the back story as possible. I really didn't know how this one was going to pan out. And when it finished, it made it all the more invigorating.
Russell Crowe plays James Braddock, a depression era boxer who loses everything after the Wall Street Crash of 1929. After landing a temporary position as a dock yard worker, Braddock finds himself with little means to support his family. His old time manager - played wonderfully by Paul Giamatti - decides to get him in the ring for one last showdown, as the scheduled contender had to withdraw. Seeing this as a way of making a potentially life saving $250, Braddock accepts the challenge - much to the worry of his wife (Renee Zellwenger). The film then chronicles his subsequent re-rise through the boxing ranks, as he defies all the odds and becomes labelled "The Cinderella Man".
As a spectacle, the film is wonderful. The boxing scenes are in my opinion the best filmed since Raging Bull - and I do not say that lightly. You really do feel like ribs are being crushed and craniums cracked. You will be gripping the edge of your seat. On an emotional level the film borderlines between warm sentiment and mawkish schmaltz, although it definitely evoked far more heartfelt smiles then it did rolled eyes.
Russell Crowe is on top form. His best performance is still Jeffrey Wigand in The Insider (1999), but this one is definitely up there along with Gladiator (2000). Equally effective is Paul Giamatti, and I think both men deserve Oscar recognition, especially after Giamatti was completely overlooked for his wonderful turn in Sideways (2004).
A really good, really exciting, heartfelt piece of work.