It's a knockout (Cinderella Man (DVD))

Name: iamasadlittleboy

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Product:	Cinderella Man (DVD)
Date:	03/09/07 (90 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Historically accurate, Has boxing, Great acting, Superb story, Wonderfully created

Disadvantages: Unfair portrayal of Max Baer

As some may know I'm a huge boxing fan and would be more than happy to become a boxing journalist. I'm often up to 4 or 5 on a Saturday morning waiting to find the latest results from Argentina or watch the late night American cards, so this movie was perfect for me, a biopic on the former World Heavyweight champion (note 1) James J. Braddock (note 2 and 3).

Sorry for any spoilers and the more boxing history centric review than most others.

Sorry Let me apologise for these notes, just as a bit of a boxing afficiando I feel these may be useful to the reader, and I'm sorry if they break the flow of the actual review.

The movie opens with a Braddock fight from 1929 (I've not got the DVD with me so I'm unsure of who it was against or the actual date sorry) in which Braddock (played by the magnificent Russel Crowe) wins. After the fight he gets paid and talks to his manager Joe Gould (played by Paul Giamatti) who gives him a lift home and helps introduce the other leading role. Braddocks wife Mae (or May) (Played by Renee' Zellweger). This opening is meant to represent the high times in Braddocks life, with the booming economy of the '20's and Braddocks most busy in ring time (Braddocks career started on 13th April 1926 and by 31 Dec 1929 he'd had 50 fights of his 86 fights) (note 4).

Boxing history/spoilers for those who don't know about Braddocks life

The next little section (dated at sometime in the 30's sorry for lack of specifics again) starts to show the lows in Jim and Mae's life, with the dirty thirty's and depression in full swing. Braddock boxing to help make ends meet breaks his hand in a fight (from memory of Braddocks career this was against Martin Levandowski on 5th April 1933). Whilst boxing Braddock also worked like many at the docks to help keep his family fed, working with the hand he broke against Levandowski (and damaged further in his fight against Al Stillman on 19th May '33).

During '33 Braddock fought 3 more times with the broken and swollen hand (Les Kennedy, Chester Matan and Abe Feldman). The fight against Feldman left his hand in an even worse state than previously and this where the docks became the Braddocks' only income with Mae bringing up the 3 kids. During this post Feldman peroid Jim had been stripped off his liscence and tok his longest time away from the ring (upto that point) taking almost 9 months off.

With the family struggling to make ends meet we see bills go unpaid and the former world heavyweight contender (Jim hadn't won the title until later in time) see his son steal, his family go with out and his wife take the kids to their grandparents behind his back. Despite the world looking down on and laughing at Braddock his kids going was the last straw before he begged to be allowed to fight and literally begged the boxing state commision to help him survive.

We then see the almost Rocky-esque (Balboa, not Marciano) story unfold in front of our eyes as Gould lines up a one off, which subsequently becomes a come back. A fight against Corn Griffin leads to some of the hierarchy feeling he'd be good fodder for the menacing Art Lasky (who had a record of 34-4-2 with 27 KO's) in a semi final of a tournament to fight for the heavyweight title. But before he could face Lasky he'd have to beat the young and up coming John Henry Lewis (who was then 30-1-3 with 21 KO's and aged 20 to Braddocks 29 years of age).

The story of the movie continues along the lines of Braddocks career with him unexpectedly winning both fights and facing upto Max Baer. This is where the movie really heads away from the previously wonderful accuracy of the times and really hurts the movie as a boxing fan. With the boxing commission trying to offer a way out for Braddock in fear of his life after Baer had "killed 2 men" (note 5).

The movie paints Baer unfairly as a monster, an egocentric who's purposefully mean and evil, with almost boastful declarations about the deaths. In fact Max was haunted by both deaths (one of which was actually unrelated to his fight) and had paid for not only the funeral costs but also paid a lot of his purses to the family of the deceased. This is my only major gripe with the movie, but it was unfair of Ron Howard to paint a family man as such a hienous and calous person.

Anyway, the movie's big fight scene is the Braddock V Baer fight (19th June 1935) the records were:
The NYSAC and NBA World Heavyweight Champion Baer 40-7-0 with 31 KO's
And the #1 contender James J. Braddock 49-25-7 with 26 KO's.

The cinderella story taking completion as Braddocks heart takes him through some punishing rounds with Baer who was then regarded as the most ferocious puncher since Jack Dempsey. Braddock edged a UD (Unanmious Decision) to finally gain the title, the prestige and the money his family needed to keep going.

Braddock did defend his title (unsuccessfully) to the rampant and destructive Joe "The Brown Bomber" Loius, a fight of which Joe Gould made Braddock and his family financially secure until Braddocks eventual death in 1974. Gould added a clause in the contract that Braddock would recieve 10% of all future purses Louis was to recieve if Louis beat Braddock (which he ultimately did via a 8th Round KO).



The acting and end of the spoilers
---
The actors despite the review admittedly being very history centric is very solid and the characters (except for Baer) are all pretty accurately portrayed which resulted in Paul Giamatti being nominated for an Oscar (note 6) (and winning 9 awards) Russell Crowe winning an award and being nominated for several others, Renee' Zellweger winning an award and Ron Howard winning several (being nominated for others).

The cast was well put together and performed their roles believeably throughout and kept pretty accurately to the historical context of Braddocks career.

The Story
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The story was one which they could do little with really in regards to changing it (but yet who would want to?) and where they did (some of the stuff with Baer) they over-stepped the mark in act to dramatise the situation. The story is one of a real under-dog achieveing all he can, a real life Rocky if you will. A really deep story of a man doing all he can to provide for his family and if the message gets through to todays youth the world would be a far better place if we had more Jim's around. A rollercoaster of a ride to say the least but all the while Jim brought up his kids to behave had the decency to help his friends and family and stuck by his morals.

Historical accuracy
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Apart from the Baer section the movie is 99% accurate in other aspects as far as im concerned (bar a few goofs such as music that was chronologically wrong). With the story of Jim's hardships, the swallowing of his pride and accepting benefits then the revival of his career all pretty damn accurate.

Any complaints
---
Im taking it that all readers have aknowledged my dislike for the Baer inaccuracies so I won't include them. However I'd have prefered their to have been more boxing rather than the stuff which involved Mae (though I do fully understand why it was kept in), though admittedly the movie was getting on in length (the film lasts 144 mins).

Cast:
Russell Crowe ... Jim Braddock
Renée Zellweger ... Mae Braddock
Paul Giamatti ... Joe Gould
Craig Bierko ... Max Baer
Paddy Considine ... Mike Wilson
Bruce McGill ... Jimmy Johnston
David Huband ... Ford Bond
Connor Price ... Jay Braddock
Ariel Waller ... Rosemarie Braddock
Patrick Louis ... Howard Braddock
Rosemarie DeWitt ... Sara Wilson
Linda Kash ... Lucille Gould

DVD Extras:
Deleted Scenes
Ron Howard Intros
Ringside Seats (Highlights from the Baer fight with original footage from the fight)


Note 1: Braddock held both:
The NYSAC World heavyweight title and the National Boxing Association World heavyweight titles
Note 2: Jim's birth name was:
James Walter Braddock
Note 3: The "J":
James adopted the J after former heavyweight champions James J. Jeffries and James J. Corbett
Note 4: Braddocks fights per year (sorry for the list):
16 in 1926
17 in 1927
9 in 1928
8 in 1929
6 in 1930
7 in 1931
7 in 1932
9 in 1933
2 in 1934
2 in 1935
0 in 1936
1 in 1937
1 in 1938
Note 5: Max Baer "killing 2 guys":
The first death was an in ring tragedy that was more down the poor refereeing and resulted in Frankie Campbells death. An event that nearly made Baer walk away from the sport after around a year in it. Baer apologised the Campbell's family and sat at his bedside with Campbells wife until his death the following day.
The second was Ernie Schaaf who died 4 months after fighting Baer in a fight of which Baer badly beat his opponent silly and Schaaf was said to have never been the same man again, often complaing about headaches (and suffering from menigitis before his fatal fight with Primo Carnera).
Note 6: The Oscars
Paul Giamatti was nominated for an Oscar for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role". An award Paul won from many other awarding bodies across the globe.


Trivia:
Art Lasky once fought a guy called "Johnny Paychek"
Crowe lost over 50 pounds for the role (and was lighter than Braddock had been for much of his latter career)
Rosemarie DeWitt, who plays the neighbor Sara Wilson, is the granddaughter of the real Jimmy Braddock.
The mention of "Turtle" (which the kids confuse with "title") is true and it's alleged the first thing Jimmy bought was in fact a turtle on his way home (though this has often been said to be merely a myth).
Baer's son (Max Baer Jr) was among many who felt his father was harshly treated during the movie.

Similar films:
Boxing:
Rocky (especially the first 2)
Raging Bull
Ali
Flying Fists
On the waterfront
Joe and Max (which is set around the same time as well with Joe Louis' title reign starting where this movies ends)

Depression era dramatisations:
Sea Biscuit

Summary: A great biopic of succseeding against the odds