![]() ![]() The screenplay packs in a lot of action without sacrificing character development by using ingenious methods like that dresser pan, or filling us in on Braddock's downfall via a ringside announcer's introduction. Bruce McGill is notable as the corporate fat cat of boxing, but the usually reliable Paddy Considine ("In America") makes a weak impression as Braddock's dock buddy Mike Wilson. #Cinderella man cast full#Craig Bierko ("Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star") gives a breakout performance as the seemingly unbeatable Baer, full of presumption and small-mindedness. ![]() Zellweger trots out a New Yawk accent without sliding into the parody of "Cold Mountain." Also good is Giamatti as the honest manager who is told "They oughta put your mouth in the circus.' He plays Gould as a kind of compassionate hustler. Crowe and Zellweger have surprising chemistry, a lusty bond that remains strong no matter how much force is wielded against it. He radiates the decency of a man who went to great lengths to provide for his family and care for his friends (Braddock returned all the money he received from government relief funds once he was able to provide for himself again). Crowe is tremendously appealing as Braddock, giving the impression of a genial Robert Mitchum with his period beefiness, hooded eyes and lopsided grin. Gould, whose own financial situation is getting dire, fronts his former fighter $175 so that he can continue to train and exactly one year later Jim has 10:1 odds to beat world champion Max Baer, a powerhouse who had already killed two men in the ring. Jim astonishes everyone and captures the imagination of a nation when he wins. Jim gets his kids back and a shamed Gould gets his friend some more substantial cash by suggesting him as a one-time substitute in a big heavyweight fight with a contender for the crown. Johnston) and his former manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti, "Sideways"). #Cinderella man cast license#When the Braddocks lose their heat mid-winter, Mae packs the kids off to her relatives, but Jim has sworn they'd never be split up - he returns to Madison Square Gardens with his hat literally in hand, begging from the man who revoked his license (Bruce McGill, "Matchstick Men," as Mr. Food is scarce (dad talks about dreams of big steaks which have left him full, in order to give his share to his kids) and the utilities are in danger of being shut off. ![]() With one pan of a dresser scarf (cinematography by Salvatore Totino, "The Missing") we're moved from the bedroom of a stately Colonial to the one room basement apartment the Braddocks now inhabit. Howard economically lays out the good years and the solid, flirtatious marriage of the Braddocks. #Cinderella man cast series#The only bum note in "Cinderella Man" is the thoroughly bland, plug 'n play score served up by Thomas Newman, "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events"). Actor Russell Crowe, who looks like he stepped right out of the 1930's, can apparently do anything and costar Zellweger has never been more appealing as his fiercely loyal wife. Director Ron Howard ("The Missing," "A Beautiful Mind"), working from a story and screenplay by Cliff Hollingsworth ("A Beautiful Mind's" Akiva Goldsman also has a screenplay credit), not only delivers period veracity in the boxing ring, but gets his audience to appreciate the poverty of the Great Depression. New York American sports journalist Damon Runyan dubbed him the "Cinderella Man." The Oscar winning team behind "A Beautiful Mind" reteam to tell one of the most inspirational stories in sports. Then something miraculous happened and Braddock climbed to greater glory than he'd ever achieved before. When a referee has to step in to end a fight because of the beating Braddock's taken, the boxer's license is revoked and he's left to fight for the few jobs on New York City's docks. By 1933, the stock market crash and a broken hand found the man struggling to support his beloved wife Mae (Renée Zellweger, "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason") and their four children in fifty dollar bouts. In the 1920's Jim Braddock (Russell Crowe, "A Beautiful Mind") was a successful light heavyweight with a large home in New Jersey paid for with $80,000 purses. ![]()
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