Cinderella Man Film Analysis

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Perhaps more than any other occupation or sport, boxing has become the subject of multiple well-known films such as: Raging Bull, Body And Soul, The Set-Up, Fat City, and Million Dollar Baby, and while these films are considered to be “pretty great”, they don’t quite measure up to the 2005 boxing movie, Cinderella Man. America’s beloved Russell Crowe plays the lead role and main protagonist (James Braddock) and as you can imagine, generates a lot of hype for this movie. This film, directed by Ron Howard, tells the story of the 1935 heavyweight boxing champion, James Braddock, living in midst of The Great Depression. The effective opening shows Braddock in his prime, dismantling another light-heavyweight contender at Madison Square Garden …show more content…
However the one thing this movie lacks is originality. As expected, this is a film features many clichés typical of underdog sports movie. Being that this was based on a true story, such clichés are forgivable. What really stands out to me about this movie is it’s phonemable ability to maintain in suspense in spite these clichés. The only criticism I can really give is that comparisons between this movie and Seabiscuit are sadly unavoidable. They both tell a story of a sports hero who rose from the ashes of the Depression to take the country by storm and lift the spirits of a downtrodden populace. And as wonderful as this movie is, there’s really no place for it into today's film industry simply because it has been done countless times.

With grittiness and an evocative sense of time and place, the film Cinderella Man is overall a powerful and effective underdog story. Ron Howard and Russell Crowe prove to be a solid combination and make this movie what it is. I would recommend this movie to anyone who doesn’t mind watching and old-fashioned story line. Although lacking in originality, when it comes to emotional effectiveness, this movie really packs a powerful