Review of Cinderella Man (2005) by Dawdlingpoet — 23 Nov 2021

This is a tale of a somewhat down and out boxer (Jim Braddock) struggling to maintain a semi-decent home life for his family in the late 1920s onwards. Its undoubtedly a bleak watch at times but I liked seeing how James Braddock reacted to things, criticism by others and how he clearly loved his children and did all he could to provide for his family.

The film title refers to the nickname he was given, as he managed to regain his former glory but the question is, of course, at what cost?. I remember one character also made the point that (in relation to his nickname) "people die in fairy tales all the time".

Certainly this film highlights that the serious effects of concussion were at least starting to be noticed back in the time its set in, with other competitors knocking people out, who didn't recover. That made me think of the more recent film 'Concussion' with Will Smith, which goes into this subject more deeply, although in that film its directly related to American Football, rather than boxing.

I felt Renee Zellweger gave a particularly good performance in this film, as Mae Braddock, who clearly was deeply concerned for the health and future of her husband and father to her children. I doubt many people couldn't feel her concern and frustration for him through Renee's performance.

Overall this is an interesting sport related biopic/drama film. I wouldn't say its especially memorable but Russell Crowe is on good form and I'd say its certainly worth a watch, so yes, I would recommend it.