Review of Cinderella Man (2005) by Matt P — 19 Aug 2010

At times I feel this should have won the Oscar for best picture of '05. This is a fascinating and "heartwarming" story of a boxer struggling to make it through the great depression. In that sense it's more of a historical biopic then an underdog boxing story.

This is NOT Rocky. I can't think of one element that was to say, glorified except maybe the ending. But hey, can you blame Ron Howard for wanting to ham things up a little once the film was coming to a closure? The whole film is set on one dark and depressing mood, and Russel Crowe does a phenomenal job as a big brute with hard events he didn't ask for.

His actions are un-predictable, believable, and I really felt the character's emotion. Pail Giamattie also does a great job as the fast-talking manager who's got to get him his scraps. All in all I'd say it's more about one man's emotional drive to put the bread on the table for his family, then to win the gold belt in the ring.