Shortly after winning gobs of Academy Awards for A BEAUTIFUL MIND, Russell Crowe and director Ron Howard knew they had to work together again. Their mantles just needed more gold statues. They eventually agreed on CINDERELLA MAN and got Renee Zellweger and Paul Giamatti to co-star. Just based on pedigree alone the film is an Oscar contender by JoBlo reader "Unbreakable" caught a test screening and said this puppy's realer than Real Deal Holyfield. Scroll below to read his positive/mild spoiler review of the upcoming film, scheduled to hit theaters this June.
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Get the Oscar Polished!
It’s not every day that I would proudly claim that I had seen a film carrying the title THE CINDERELLA MAN. Another romantic comedy with McConaughey, I asked myself? But after having the privilege of catching a test screening of Ron Howard’s latest (and possibly greatest)film in LA last week…I’m singing it from the rooftops.
The print we were shown was a work print. The filmmakers were in the process of finishing the movie. The copy that we saw had not yet been color corrected, the sound was missing pieces and something along the lines of the Forrest Gump soundtrack was being used as temp music. In fact we were shown a video copy and not an actual film print. But even with those technicalities working against it, the Cinderella Man could easily be one of the best films, if not the best film of 2005.
The film details the story of Jim Braddock a depression era boxer from the 1930’s. We open with Jim as a semi successful boxer in 1928. He’s respected, has a lovely wife (played by Rene Zellwegger) and a picturesque Norman Rockwell home.
Slam cut to 1933. The stock market has crashed, jobs are scarce and hope has become something you just don’t talk about anymore. Jim and his wife Mae now live in a dirty little basement apartment with their three young children. They can’t pay the bills, there’s hardly a hope in the world for them and yet they must push forward to keep their family together.
Jim can barely get work at the docks and after suffering an injury during a match his boxing career is pretty much over. Or is it? Thankfully his manager Joe Gould (played by the magnetic Paul Giamatti) manages to get Joe a second chance in the ring. Joe is given the opportunity to prove he’s not some washed up bum. To prove that fairy tales are not just the work of the imagination. To prove that if it doesn’t kill you, it’s only making you stronger. From the second half of the film we follow Jim as he re enters the boxing world. And to say that he’s the underdog would be the understatement of the year. Jim becomes something of a folk hero to the people suffering through the depression, a sign that the every man just might be able to over come given the chance and the people rally around him.
The artistry of the picture is impeccable of course. Crowe gives another great performance. It’s subtle and kind (is this the same Russell Crowe you ask? Yeah, it’s Maximus alright). Jim Braddock is an honorable man, he’s loyal and faithful to his wife and his family. He’ll do anything to keep them together including one powerful scene in which he begs his former colleagues for money to earn back his kids. In a twist of irony, later in the film a press conference is held in Braddock’s honor …in the exact same room he begged in! Zellwegger is great as his supportive and concerned wife although the role is not overly complex and Giamatti…well, as Braddock’s boxing promoter, anyone would agree this is a role he was born to play.
The film did run long in a few parts and there was a sub plot that could use trimming, but almost everything else is worth writing home to mom about. The fight scenes are brutal and visceral, you will feel every crushing blow. It is a tad violent as the fight scenes are shown in grave detail. But you’ll feel it, trust me. It is for sure an Oscar contender on numerous levels.
But what is it that is so great? It’s the themes and the emotion of the Cinderella man that has had me telling everyone to go see it (even though it’s not coming out for a few more months). For some reason it brought to mind THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, ROCKY and SEABISCUIT for me. Hope, tenacity, determination and just the belief that perhaps something will change and give you that second chance you need are all hit home. The audience was totally into the film, even applauding two or three times and clapping heavily at the end. They cheered every time Jim landed a solid punch, whether it was to his opponent in the ring or him taking another step to overcoming the severe problems in life he faced. He struggles to pay the bills, he needs to put food on his kid’s plates and he needs to get a good job. If you haven’t been in one of those situations before then you will at some point and it’s not easy. Howard doesn’t sugar coat those things, Jim Braddock had to go to the bottom so that he could rise to the top. In the words of one of my favorite songs, "you have to go through hell, before you get to heaven".
The filmmakers have brought to the screen a wonderful real life character, through great writing, direction and acting. Jim Braddock is the type of character you hope isn’t just the work of a screenwriter. He’s tough, strong, patient and determined. He never wavers and he’ll always smile with humility along the way. Am I gushing a little here? Sure, but I don’t care. The film entertained me, it moved me and inspired me. I look forward to a second viewing when the film is finished and would recommend it to everybody.
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