An uplifting sports biopic directed by Ron Howard, Cinderella Man tells the triumphant story of man overcoming adversity.Russell Crowe plays James J. Braddock, an American boxer struggling to feed his family during the Great Depression of the early 1930s. Down on his luck and crippled by injury, Braddock cannot pay the bills and decides to hang up his gloves.
At one point in the middle of winter, his wife Mae (Rene Zellweger) sends their three children away because of the lack of food and electricity.
Howard and his team do a fine job in portraying the devastating effect that the effects of economic downturn on ordinary folk. The film includes depressing scenes of unemployed men queuing for work at the docks and of squatters in New York's Central Park.
Braddock's early misfortunes make his comeback in the second half all the more moving and astonishing. With the help of his former manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti), Braddock returns to the ring in 1934 and surprises everyone by winning the fight.
One by one he takes out more highly rated opponents, until he is finally in a position to take on the feared world heavyweight champion Max Baer (Craig Bierko). His fairytale victory over 15 bloody rounds wins the nation's heart and earns him the nickname Cinderella Man.
Crowe, with his physical prowess, is more convincing as a boxer than he was as a genius mathematician in A Beautiful Mind, another Howard movie about triumphing over adversity. The Oscar winner gives an all-rounded and flawless performance of Braddock as both a ruthless boxer and a loving family man.