Cinderalla Man that is.

And the verdict...well...it was better than expected...it was actually quite brilliant...yes, I am the obscene whiner who detested this film and now praises it on high...

...I am a chump...

However, Russell Crowe's performance as a family man/boxer, James J. Braddock, was simply triumphant, Renee Zellweger as Mae was better than to be expected, she actually seemed a caring and loving wife & mother, and Paul Giamatti as Braddock's boxing manager, Joe Gould, was the best supporting role I've ever seen...someone give the guy an Oscar already...

Even Johnny Johnston (Bruce McGill) the boxing promoter had his moments of brillance...not to mention Mike Wilson (Paddy Considine), Braddock's dock working buddy was decent...although if the film had one minor setback it was with the angle of the story because it was not developed enough.  However, I can understand why there wasn't as much emphasis on Mike's downward spiral during the Depression.  I mean the film's main focus was on Braddock the underdog Depression era hero who lifted everyone's spirits from the doldrums.   It's just that Mike's climactic scene was given short shrift, and I for one would have liked maybe 2 more minutes explaining what and why exactly happened.  I mean the scene was powerful, don't get me wrong, it's just that it didn't provide the right emotional payoff because of a few missing pieces. 

Yes, I did see "Cinderalla Man" this afternoon if you couldn't already tell.  I took in a matinee viewing at 1:00pm...and I almost was the only one in that theatre today...if it wasn't for a couple of old ladies, a single elderly woman, and a pair of womanly friends having a girl's day out me supposes.  And yes, this is the latest film to be directed by Ron Howard and to star Russell Crowe.  As well, one of the co-writers of the script was Akiva Goldsman who had penned the script for that other Howard/Crowe collaboration entitled "A Beautiful Mind."

Now, during the first hour or so of the film I was thinking to myself that they could have called this film A Beautiful Heart.  But, I suppose that would have been a bit cheesy and sound too much like a sequel.  However, Braddock as a boxer turned lowly man at the bottom of the totem pole due to the Great Depression had a great heart.  He was the family man who cared deeply for his three children, Rosie, Jay, and Howard, and his wife Mae.  For instance, Braddock was fully aware of his family's broken, poor condition, that when he found out one day that his eldest son, Jay, had stolen a salami from the butchers, Braddock took his son back to the butcher to return the piece of meat.  Jay was afraid that his family wouldn't be able to feed him and his siblings.  But being the resilient that Braddock is, he promised Jay that through it all no matter how sufferable he would not move his children.  This is because Jay's friend was moved to his Uncle in Delaware because of his friend's parents not having enough to feed him.  I should say here that this film takes place in between New Jersey and New York from 1933 to 1935.  (However, the movie introduces us to Braddock five years before the Depression hit in 1928.) 

Braddock is a family man, but he is also a boxer.  He will stop at nothing to try and defeat his opponent so he can win the "purse" and make money for his family.  But it is the Depression, and Braddock's left hand has become a fight away from serious injury.  In a fateful deciding match in Mount Vernon, NY, Braddock caves in on his opponent and loses, but it is not a loss that he didn't try his damndest at.  It is just that Johnson, the boxing promoter, thinks that Braddock has lost his edge and his license has been stricken away.   Therefore, this leaves Joe Gould without his man and Braddock to rely on working at the dock for minimum wage.  Throughout this time, Braddock never loses hope that he can regain the momentum and good fortune his family once had.  He will not quit or give up, even when things look horribly worse from the outside surroundings, as when the Braddocks lose their heat in the winter of 1933.  

Eventually, Braddock is given a second chance at boxing.  He has been summoned by Joe Gould to fight on a moments notice against Corn Griffin in 1934.  Braddock wows the crowd as he surprisingly beats Griffin down.  This is because Braddock had not been training, and Griffin had been seen as the front runner to eventually go up against the World Heavyweight Champ, Max Behr (Craig Bierko).   The match between Behr and Primo Carnera that night was a wake up call of sorts to Braddock that sent him a charge of boxing energy.

From this point on, Joe Gould had his man back in the ring taking fights one step at a time.  Braddock increasingly took hold of his opponents until he became the Number One Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship against Max Behr.  The fight in 1935 was simply breathtaking, and was a remarkable feeling that Howard & Totino created such a visceral boxing experience.   

But before the Griffin fight, Braddock was extremely down on his luck and taking things day by day.  He would do anything for his family.  His low point was when he took the ferry over into NYC and simply pleaded as a last resort to his former boxing promoter and manager friends for help/money.  This scene was extremely well done, and the expression or lack thereof on Crowe's face showed how much he cared for his family yet still felt a little ashamed for asking for so much.   The fact that when Braddock came to Gould to seek help/money, and Braddock saying "I'm sorry" was probably the most powerful moment in the film for me.  The scene was just breathtaking and well shot. 

The film "Cinderalla Man" was created with a master stroke by Ron Howard.   The Director of Photography for this film was Salvatore Totino.  The way that he got the shots right in the middle of the action was remarkable.  The detail and raw power of the fights were simply magnificent.  Also, the roaring crowds at each of the matches were so engrossing that I literally felt that I was at a boxing match.  It was an incredibly, visceral experience. 

The relationship that Braddock had with his manager, Joe Gould, was simply priceless.   Without Joe, Braddock would have been a sinking ship (pun intended).  This is because Joe could be a ruthless SOB when it came to his man, but he also cared deeply for his own welfare as well as his family's. 

Also, the relationship that Braddock had with his wife Mae was a truly romantic one.   But, that is not to say that their were hardships.  I mean regardless of the Depression backdrop, the thought of her husband aging and fighting a monster such as Behr seemed unthinkable.  But, while it may seem to be movie cliche, Mae stood by her husband no matter how painful.  Braddock, Mae, and their children were truly a family unit through and through.

As Mae Braddock said to her husband,

 "...you are the boxer from Bergen...the Pride of Jersey...your kids hero...and the heart of your wife..."

This film was tuly remarkable indeed.  If I were a betting man, I'd bet a million that Cinderalla Man gets nominated the whole nine yards at next years Oscars.  This film was just a remarkable feat, even if it did have some rocky story patches that weren't explained well enough. 

Therefore, I shall give this film a 9/10 and a 4/4 stars."