Jan 16, 2006 05:49 PM
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(Updated Jan 16, 2006 05:49 PM)
Set into the Depression Era, Cinderella Man is the story of the indomitable human spirit and its triumphs. It is the story about how a-once well-off family struggles to survive at the trying times. And how a man goes almost to any extent to keep the promise he has made to his family, eventually becoming the Cinderella Man....the pride of New Jersey.
Flooded with the Oscar winning actors Russel Crowe and Rene Zellwegger, Cinderella Man is an emotional voyage through the lives of James Braddock (Russel) and his wife(Rene). James earns handsomely through his boxing career and the family sees good days. Then the Great Depression strikes and along with that James breaks one of his boxing arms. He finds himself being sacked off the Boxing license, his only bread-n-butter,and incapable of doing any other physical job to keep his family running. Eventually James manages to get a one and only fight against the title contender and with a heroic effort he wins that dual. This makes the big guns at the Boxing arena revamp his license and soon he becomes the number one contender for the World Heavy Weight championship. This time around he is up against the defending champion, who has the reputation of killing his opponents with one huge punch, having already killed two.
The most amazing scene is the one in which James's wife goes to the Church to pray for her husband's life only to find the church flooding with people, who have also come to pray for him. Silently and without much ado, James becomes the hero of the people who are suffering due to harsh economic conditions. Its once again an axmple of people looking desperately for a role model and finding one in an extraordinarily ordinary man. Just a boxing champion.....People feel that he is figthing for them. They don't know who their enemy is...they only know that James is fighting their fight.
The message ultimately conveyed by the movie is that of an undying human spirit. Ron Howard has been able to capture the human emotions very well and Russel Crowe, as usual is the best as James Braddock. The emotion and plead in his eyes when he actually begs in front of the Boxing Bosses,brings about the plight of a father struggling to keep his words, very vividly. One cannot help but feel sympathy for the hero who begs!!! I think no other actor would have been able to do justice to the role. Apart from acting,the direction is superb. I mean its a story of a boxer and their ought to be those boring boxing matches.....but Ron has captured the entire match sequences with such brilliance that one hardly gets bored. Especially the last match makes one bite ones nails. Because with that match not only a family's hopes but the entire city's aspirations are associated. People crowd the arena to watch that match and back in New Jersey people are glued to their Radio sets to follow the match round-by-round. I could actually feel the tension myself!!! And I cheered and cheered for James, even though I knew its just a movie and the end is very predictable.
The only flip side of the movie is Rene Zelwegger. She squeaks a lot and hardly displays any emotions.After seeing the movie I couldn't help but compare it with Mother India. I agree the two movies are totally different...but the situation in which a parent finds himself/herself is pretty much the same. Unfortunately Rene doesn't come any near to Nargis as far as acting is concerned....but its Russel who carries the movie forward entirely on his shoulders. Another thing worth mentioning is the manager/trainer of James. That guy supports James throught thick and thin!
Overall: The movie is good, but its a bit too lengthy. It could have been made a bit more emotional but as far Hollywood standards are concerned its just about fine. Its about Cinderella Man!!!
