Cinderella Man
(dir. Ron Howard)
Washed up fighter James W. Braddock is struggling to keep his family together during the Great Depression, but gets an unlikely shot at the World Title.
Seemingly unsure of whether it wants to be Raging Bull or Rocky, the film's aesthetic lifts heavily, but lacks the punch of the former - while the predictable underdog tale lacks the heart of the latter. Russell Crowe's performance as a hard working honest guy might technically be on the money, but the character is lacking in motivation or passion, making for a pretty flat film.
It seems like everybody involved felt like they were in sure-fire Oscar country here, and Paul Giacametti's performance in particular feels like it was sent in by telegram. He's badly cast as a young-looking training 'veteran' and there's no depth to his character - especially for a role that's usually set to 'powerhouse' (Clint and Morgan Freeman in Million Dollar Baby, Burgess Meredith in Rocky, Joe Pesci in Raging Bull). The script holds few surprises too - the bell rings in the nick of time a couple of times, the dishonest opponent gets the odd punch in after the bell, but unlike the aforementioned Million Dollar Baby, there's little doubt how it's going to end.
The production values and art direction are big and expensive, but when the dust settles all we are left with is a long solid, hard working dust bowl of a movie, not dissimilar to that other dull, depression sports drama - Sea Biscuit.
The old Halliwell's Guide would probably say *.
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17th Oct 2007 - Tumblr
2.5