Cinderella Man - A Human Story

If this movie was brought out in any other year other than the last one, this one would have surely won an Oscar, if not best picture, atleast for its storytelling…..this is an epic human story that the Hollywood scriptwriters can write so well (when they are not scripting Rambo) and the best part of it is that its true…the story of the boxer (James J Braddock played by Russell Crowe) fighting to feed his family in the backdrop of the years from the great depression to pre-worldwar II is indeed a story of the triumph of the human spirit over all odds.

The story starts with Braddock being shown as a rising boxer (a couple of years before the great depression) who is more or less well-to-do with the lovely Mae as his wife (played to perfection by Renee Zellweger) and a child (his family has two more additions when we cut to the depression era)….the future looks rosy and then suddenly the great depression strikes and Braddock loses all his money and they are forced to move to a much humbler house….in the meantime Braddock is also shown to have slipped up on boxing with mounting losses….he then breaks his hand as well and his license is also revoked….but this is not where the slide ends….

In any case, either you have seen the movie or you have not…..if you have not (which you must), there is no point spoiling it by telling the whole story and if you have, well, you have!!!!



So what I am going to do is put down my thoughts on the film…..

The movie has strong characters and equally strong dialogue delivery with a storyline that never falters….Braddock’s ups and downs, his small victories are shown without any jarring in the storytelling…..in between we are shown a glimpse into what kind of a man he is when he is not punching or being punched….the love between him and his wife, Mae is prevalent in all of the films….her fears about him yet the pride she feels when he wins….his love for his children and his willingness to go to all lengths to keep them safe and with him, even going to the extent of compromising on his self-respect (perhaps the lowest point of his life)……his relationship with his loyal manager Joe Gould (played by Paul Giamatti) is heartwarming….Joe stand by and believes in him when nobody does (at one time, not even Mae)….he even sells his last furniture so that Braddock can train, and not out of sympathy or pity but because he saw something that made him believe in him…..

The mainstay of the film, I believe is Braddock’s courage and not only in the ring (Joe Louis called him the most courageous man he ever fought)….his courage infects the whole narrative, courage in fighting for his family’s survival, when many men were simply giving up or worse packing up and abandoning their family, his courage to fight on no matter what, to fight stronger, younger, better trained boxers simply because he had to feed his family ( in one memorable scene, when Joe was telling him that he had managed to get him a fight, all that he asks, is how much would he get….doesn’t even ask who he is supposed to fight…courage?...desperation?...a bit of both I think), his courage to even trample his own pride and self-respect because he needed to have money to turn back the electricity so that he can get back his children…..

The climax (and what a climax it was) is of course the fight between Max Baer (the reigning champion) and Braddock….a fight still considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history…the contrast between the two men is beautifully played out…on one hand, an older man fighting to keep his family fully fed (Mae is even shown surreptitiously putting a piece of food in her handbag – for her children I suppose, in a posh restaurant at which they were taken to prior to the fight) while on the other hand, Max Baer is a playboy, rich, virile looking, with a woman on each arm and on top of that, he is lethal in the ring (he has killed a boxer in the ring)…..

Max Baer is however shown to be an all and out villain showing no remorse for the man he killed (the truth is however far from that)….but I guess that Ron Howard (the director) felt it would be good for cinematic viewing (it was!!!) if it was shown as more of a fight between good and evil, between rich and poor etc (just as if he had actually told the whole details of John Nash in Beautiful Mind, the movie would have become much more complex and well, less appealing as well)….

The last fight lasts for 20 good minutes and I almost felt that I was actually witnessing the fight and at the end I was almost cheering on Braddock (aloud)!!!!....it was superbly filmed but what made the fight even better was the build up to it, of the clash between Mae and Braddock, the overwhelming public support for him (they all felt that he was of one them and consequently, fighting for them)….the emotion that you feel during the fight becomes even more taut when you see the expressions and the emotions of people hearing it on the radio (especially Mae and the children)….you almost felt that that you were right there with them, cheering their hero on, fearing for him, groaning and feeling the pain with them every time Braddock gets hit….and yeah, the ending was made even better with the hint of an anti-climax……

You may not like boxing (I do...) but still watch it for the story of the triumph of the human spirit….and by the time you are through, you would know with all your heart, why ‘Cinderella man’ (which I was wondering)…..after all, it reads like a fairy tale….