Starring: Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti
Director: Ron Howard
Category: IIB
Ron Howard thrives on stories that grip the heart, and if there are some old-fashioned family values thrown in, he's all the happier. So, he gets to dine out on Cinderella Man, using all the tricks of his trade in retelling the tale of one of sport's true underdogs: the Depression era's James Braddock, whose riches-to-rags-to-riches story captured the imagination of a nation that had been brought to its knees.
As played - brilliantly - by Russell Crowe, Braddock is a man whose life has bottomed out. Once talked about as a future heavyweight champion, Braddock's life mirrors the state of the nation. His savings are gone, his boxing career has stalled, and he struggles to provide for his family.
But hope comes when his ex-manager (Paul Giamatti) calls him up after another boxer pulls out of a bout. And a surprise victory gets his career back on track.
By all accounts, Braddock was as much of a hero as Howard makes him out to have been, and Crowe gives the character a solid sense of pride and purpose, even when things have gone wrong. No one does simmering intent quite like Crowe and here he reinforces his reputation as one of modern-day cinema's few heavyweights.
