Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-ownedĬinderella Man: You'll love the movie even if not a fan
#CINDERELLA MAN CAST FULL#
Recommended! Definitely well worth watching! Read full review Lost his title on the floor when counted out for the first and only-ever time when he fought the immortal Joe Louis. Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger both do great jobs in a film which certainly stands as an equal alongside "Raging Bull" for factuality.Īlthough the so-called "Clown Prince", then-champion playboy Max Baer's entertaining character is sacrificed on the altar of Hollywood - who made him considerably more vulgar and mean than he apparently was - the actor too, still does a top job.įighting for years with a broken right hand and some wrist bones for the needs of his family caused by the Great Depression, Jim Braddock was a good honest fighter that could have made a much bigger, much brighter and m uch louder noise as heavyweight champion had he have received medical care for his worsening fractures - and his subsequently dismal worsening boxing record as a result of those specific injuries. Still a fan of the game in spite of the influence of some predatory promoters and reptilian boxing organisations, I was very impressed by Cinderella Man's accurate attention to the actual facts. "Cinderella Man" is a film that will continue to be cherished long after the filmmakers are gone, a tale rooted in an earlier era, but still timeless. Giamatti, a veteran character actor who finally saw his 'breakthrough' in last year's "Sideways", should finally get his long-deserved Oscar, for this role. Matching Crowe's portrayal are Renée Zellweger, as his loyal wife, Mae, who perfectly channels a '30s 'style', as well as a gutsiness that is timeless, and the wonderful Paul Giamatti, as manager Joe Gould, who would sell everything he owned, rather than see Braddock give up. In any other year, he'd be a shoo-in for an Oscar for his performance, it's that good! Jim Braddock is not a 'Superman', but a hard-working, decent man with no higher vision than to provide his family a better life, and as magnificently portrayed by Crowe, he embodies qualities of honesty and dignity that many of us dream of, but seldom achieve. His vision of the Depression is the most accurate and heartbreaking since the documentaries of the '30s, and will come as a revelation to those whose only knowledge of the period is a paragraph in a history book. To director Howard's credit, he never 'over-sentimentalizes' the story, or tries to turn it into a soft-focus 'fairy tale'. Their match would become the stuff of legends! He tenaciously climbed back up the ranks of younger title contenders, earning the adoration of a country trying to rebuild their own lives, as well, until, finally, he had his championship match, against ruthless 'killing machine' Max Baer. Considered 'washed up' and too old for a comeback, all the boxer had going for him was his wife's love, his manager's faith, and his personal integrity, which refused to allow him to give up. Then the Depression struck, Braddock was wiped out, financially, and he struggled to support his wife and family through the most harrowing period in American history. Sylvester Stallone 'borrowed' from it, extensively, in creating "Rocky", and in viewing the film, the parallels between fact and fiction are obvious Braddock had been an 'up and comer' in the twenties, but broken bones and ill-advised matches had cost him a championship shot. Now that the film is available on DVD, it's time to acknowledge the film for what it always HAS been director Howard and star Crowe's FINEST film, together!īraddock's story is so amazing and inspirational, that it is astonishing that it's taken seventy years to tell it. Overzealous critics tended to lump the incident and film together, and despite Crowe's public apology, many moviegoers skipped it. Braddock, never received the recognition it deserved when first released, due, in large part, to Russell Crowe's bad press following a telephone-throwing incident. Cinderella Man", Ron Howard's heart-felt film biography of boxing legend James J.
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