Movie Review: "Cinderella Man"

This, much like “Alexander” was a movie that I had long wanted to see, but somehow, had never quite gotten around to seeing. The opportunity recently arose, and I made a point of finally seeing it.

It is a movie based on the life of boxer James Braddock, who was a promising young boxer on the ride back in the late 1920's, just prior to the Great Depression. He had a couple of tough breaks, including a bad loss inside the ring, and then suffered through a few injuries. Suddenly, his boxing career, seemingly so promising not long beforehand, seemed more a relic of the past, than something that actually had a future.

He had made some money during his boxing career, and although the movie does not go into detail about how it came about that he basically lost it all, we find out that he has little to no money, or anything worth any money to exchange for once he personally gets hit by the Great Depression. With a hand injury that prevents him from being effective in the boxing ring, and also severely restricts him from managing the very few shifts that he is actually selected for in the shipping docks to try and make a few bucks to make ends meet, things grow increasingly desperate. When one of his children gets sick, his wife decides that maybe it is time for the children to find a more suitable place to stay, since neither of them can actually adequately take care of their own kids.

Braddock finds this humiliating, and he goes back to Madison Square Garden, before many of the same people that revoked his boxing license, and he has to beg for money. He meets the payment required to pay the bills, and gets his kids back. He also gets an opportunity at another fight, and you can pretty much guess the rest from there. There is a reason that title of the movie, “Cinderalla Man”, is what it is known as.

He is surprisingly strong, perhaps from the years of lifting at the docks. He is also mentally tough, because he now knows what he is fighting for – his family, his children. His hand and other injuries do not hamper him any longer, and he pulls off upsets, one after the other, until he becomes the number one contender for the title, held by seemingly monstrous Max Baer.

Baer is an absolute beast in the ring, seemngly dispatching contenders in the ring with the same ease that boxing fans in the modern day remember Mike Tyson at his peak knocking out one contender after another. He makes it look easy, makes these titans look like children. So powerful and forboding is he in the ring, that he even has literally killed two men in the ring, hitting them so hard that he knocked their brain loose with the power of his punches, literally. We learn that one of these boxers was very similar in style and size and strength to James Braddock. From that point on, nobody wants the fight to go on, fearing for Braddock's safety. That includes the boxing commission, that includes Max Baer himself. His wife does not want him to fight anymore, and especially does not want him to fight Max Baer, in particular. It becomes a constant source of tension between the couple, but she shows her support in the end.

Of course, the fight goes on, and Braddock, just thankful to have a career, and especially grateful that it is in boxing and with a large purse to boot, shows determination and grit. He takes a beating, but he dishes it out, as well. Baer had expected an easy and decisive fight, but grows frustrated in later rounds, after he has failed to put the older, smaller man down. He loses patience, and makes mistakes, and Braddock makes him pay the price.

Baer gets angrier and angrier, and his punches grow wilder and wilder, intent on doing serious damage with every swing. Intent on the knockout punch, perhaps even the kill shot.

But Braddock is smarter, fights better, shows guts and his trademark determination, and is seemingly soundly beating Baer going into the final round. Baer knows this, and is readying his infamous right arm, looking for the knockout to preserve his world title. Everyone knows what Baer is going to try to do, and everyone also knows what Braddock has to do – stay away from that dangerous right, and basically sit on the lead. Yes, everyone knows this is what Braddock needs to do, except for Braddock himself, who goes to to toe with Baer, and almost pays the price, very nearly getting knocked out, but then dishing out some serious punishment of his own, and seemingly being on the verge of knocking Max Baer out himself just before the ring sounds to end the fight.

The decision takes a long time, and it seems that Braddock is about to get cheated of the big win. But ultimately, he is declared the winner by unanimous decision, and the title is his. The turnaround complete.

This is a good movie overall. A bit too idealistic, but it is a feel good movie, and shows some of the famous desperation of those times – truly hard times, the Great Depression. Braddock is idealized, but this illustrates wonderfully the grit and determination that it takes to rise above obstacles and seemingly impossible odds, in order to achieve what nobody else think you can achieve. A fun and entertaining movie that, despite the obvious violence surrounding what enfolds in the boxing ring throughout, is nonetheless a decent family movie, and recommended!