Cinderella Man

3 Stars

PG-13, 144 minutes

Opening in theatres on June 3, Cinderella Man is the next pairing of director Ron Howard and star Russell Crowe since 2003’s phenomenally successful and Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind. The movies also share the same producer and writer.

Again based on true events, the film tackles the story of boxer Jimmy Braddock, world heavy-weight champion who overcame tremendous odds to keep himself and his family together and alive, rising out the Great Depression in the 1930s as hero to the common man. Although relatively unknown now, the boxer seems to have made a huge impact at the time, and the film adapts the story realistically, depicting a time when it was difficult to feed your children and remain honest.

The film owes a lot to Russell Crowe, who portrays a genuinely nice guy who gets kicked down wherever he turns but still remains true to his family and friends. The chemistry between him and his two co-stars — the brilliant Paul Giamatti and Renée Zellweger — works well, and the characters bloom into real people through the course of the film. The surrounding cast also shines, creating a presence that complements the leads. The film is given a timeless quality by the costumes, sets and the way it is filmed.

The final third makes up for the rest of film, which often tends to be longwinded, yet doesn’t have the feel of an epic. Where it works is that it remains subtle and as realistic as a Hollywood film can be. The fight scenes are brilliantly put together, especially the final fight, which had me inching closer and closer to the edge of my seat. The film does what it needs to do, without being flashy and big.

No doubt this film will draw comparisons to this year’s amazing Million Dollar Baby, and maybe as many Oscar nominations. But I wouldn’t say this is better, because it is not as brave and doesn’t go to the emotional lengths of that film. But it is well-constructed and does what cinema should do: seamlessly tell a story that should be told with prize performances, beautiful cinematography and able directing, deservedly pushing this film into the ranks of one of the great sports films.