Cinderella Man English Movie
Cinderella Man, as against the feminine fairy tale title suggests, is actually a rather machismo real-life story of a boxer Jim Braddock. After ‘A Beautiful Mind’, Russell Crowe teams up with director Ron Howard to come up with another masterpiece. This can be attributed to the fact that despite the movie spends around half its screen footage on boxing matches, it still succeeds to keep you engrossed even if you have no clue about the sport.
Starting in 1929, the movie opens with the story of Jim as a victorious boxer who fades away in the sport in the depression era. He and his family come to shambles. That’s when he gets a chance to fight back and emerges as a true hero repositioning himself as the heavyweight champ. The climax set in 1935 is on the backdrop of his 15-round slugfest with the killer boxer champ Max Baer (Craig Bierko).
When talking about actors who get into the skin of the character, you have to check out Russell Crowe who gets much deep into the bones and flesh as boxer Braddock (no pun). His involvement in the character shows in every frame of the film. The scene in which he begs form his seniors to get his kids back from his in-laws will get a lump in your throat. Also his unassuming simplicity and modesty in the scene where he first meets his opponent, Max is expressed fabulously. Renee Zellweger as Jim’s wife is superlatively expressive. Paul Giamatti as the Jim’s sidekick has a strong supporting role with humorous shades while Craig as the opponent has a fierce screen presence. The boxing matches are choreographed and edited brilliantly.
Despite its 140-minute runtime, recurring boxing matches, slow pace and the surplus blood and gore, you still don’t feel like flipping your eye throughout the runtime. This one depicts the heroic saga of a legend with a punch!
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