Sep 06, 2005 04:27 PM
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(Updated Sep 06, 2005 04:28 PM)
Cast: Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, Craig Bierko.
Dir: Ron Howard.
Cinderella Man marks the first-time that Oscar-winners Russell Crowe and Ron Howard have worked together since the hugely successful 'A Beautiful Mind' in 2001. The pair have come together for another biopic here too as they look to tell the story of the legendary Jim Braddock.
As a young man, Jim Braddock (Crowe) was a talented enough fighter to make a good (but not opulent) living on the the boxing circuit. This meant he was able to look after his family, which includes wife Mae (Zellweger), and children Jay, Rosemarie and Howard. His success also meant a tidy sum for his loyal manager Joe Gould (Giamatti) too. However, a bad accident in breaking his right hand, meant his career was effectively over, and after just a few more fights - and shocking defeats - it was officially over, when his boxing licence was removed.
For Braddock, his injury, and the ending of his career, could not have come at a worse time. Suddenly he became just one of the masses of unemployed living in New York State, working himself into the ground at the dockyards for a pittance.
Soon enough the family are removed from their relatively luxurious lifestyles and plunged into grim poverty. Their nice comfortable home is replaced with a cramped little appartment that has no heating. Their circumstances also mean they can hardly afford anything to eat. Somehow though, the family stay strong, although Braddock feels under intense pressure to provide more for his loved ones. And so when an opportunity arises to make a quick buck as a last minute replacement against a leading contender, Jim grabs it, despite having next to no time to train or prepare. It is then to everyone's surprise that he wins the contest, and with it, the opportunity of a comeback.
One victory leads to another for Braddock, who finds that when he really needs to fight - to feed his family - he has the desire to become a champion. What's more, Gould is able to broker a title fight with heavyweight champion Max Baer (Bierko), an incredibly intimidating fighter who has killed two of his previous opponents, and seems certain to dish out some serious treatment to Braddock, whom he outweighs and outclasses. You'll have to watch to find out what happens when they clash...
'Cinderella Man' takes the almost perfect elements of the saga of Jim Braddock's boxing career and fills it with emotional gravitas, wrenching danger and a panoramic sense of life during the Great Depression. Russell Crowe and Ron Howard are both on top form here, and despite Crowe's recent run-in with the law it seems almost certain that come next year the Academy will come knocking with a string of nominations for this modern classic.
Russell Crowe lost more than 50 pounds and suffered a string of injuries whilst training for and filming this picture. No pain, no gain, eh Russell?
