Cinderella Man

There’s a lot more going on in Cinderella Man, of course, and Braddock’s relentless devotion to family, country and duty are endearing: we understand why he fights, what a $250 prize is worth to a man barely scraping by in Depression-era New York. But Cinderella Man, much more than Bull and Baby, is about boxing itself, asking us to cheer Braddock on as he beats the shit out of other men and wince in sympathy as punches break his skin and bones. All the high points and inspiring moments are to be found in the ring: we’re supposed to get an emotional high from senseless violence. When the fight scenes are highlighted as they are here, the human elements are lost. For this viewer at least, a boxing movie has to transcend its raison d’etre, or at the very least it cannot purport to tell a positive story of the human spirit.

I was also disappointed by the simplistic good vs evil showdown Braddock endured for his title and the audience for our climax: his rival, Max Baer, is depicted as a soulless killer willing to go to any lengths to get a KO. A little internet research shows that while one man did lose his life after losing to Baer, Baer helped raise $10,000 for the man’s widow. The other boxer whose death Cinderella Man convicts Baer for went on to several more fights and died four days after the last. I don’t know a whole lot about Baer, but it seems to me this film constitutes an intentional and irresponsible abuse of his reputation which only serves to force two men into the roles of stock characters.

The fight scenes are well-executed, but seem to be lifted straight out of Raging Bull — it’s not only derivative but actually counter-productive in a movie of this kind. We don’t need slow-motion punches, exaggerated blood spurting and stylized violence in, again, a feel-good movie.

But I always start with the negative and get tired of typing before I come around to the positives. Cinderella Man is after all a thoroughly well-made movie with great performances from the leads, particularly Paul Giamatti, whose quick-witted but intense trainer provides the few moments of relief ringside. And away from the ring, it really is a moving (a bit more subtly than one is accustomed to from Howard, though it does hit all the right — and expected — notes) picture of love and honor and sheer will to survive (an endorsement for the ‘American spirit’ or ’survival of the fittest’? You decide!). It is a very good movie. Just a little… troubling.