Cinderella Man

Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger star in the historically rewritten film, Cinderella Man.

Herald rating: * * * *

Russell Crowe playing a prizefighter? That's not a stretch. Russell Crowe pulling all his punches to play a sweet, gentle, devoted husband and father whose night job happens to be boxing - that's what will likely bring the Kiwi his fourth Oscar best actor nomination next week.

This is a true story, though there's some serious rewriting of history, which opens with Jimmy Braddock as a journeyman boxer earning a comfortable living for wife Mae (Renee Zellweger) and their children Jay, Rosemarie and Howard. He's handled by Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti).

When Braddock breaks his right hand and begins losing bouts, his licence is suspended and the family suffers the worst effects of the 30s' Depression.

They lose the house, move into a dive, can't afford food or heating. His children fear being sent away to live with relatives. Braddock works on the docks, using his left hand.

Gould talks the promoters into one more fight and Braddock pays him back by taking out a leading contender. He's on the comeback trail, using his newly acquired left hook.

Now Gould can set up a title fight with the heavyweight champion Max Baer (Craig Bierko), though few expect that Braddock has the tools to challenge the more accomplished, heavier champion. This is where director Ron Howard and Crowe are shameful: to create a better story they paint Baer as a monster who killed two men in the ring, which simply isn't true. He was, if anything, braver than Braddock, a rags to riches hero who faced down Hitler and his champion, wearing the Star of David on his shorts.

The film's title - Braddock's nickname from the hard-writing chronicler of the times, Damon Runyon - will give you a clue to what happens in the ring. But this is not a movie about boxing, another Rocky or Raging Bull.

It's the portrait of a good man, and perhaps it's trite and simple, or perhaps it's a message for the times. And Crowe is outstanding.

The 2-disk DVD comes with three separate commentaries, which seems like overkill, and 10 deleted scenes that focus on Depression-era New York, that would have run the film for 20 minutes longer than its 2 1/2 hours, with Howard giving his reasons for the cuts. Fight Card explains who the lead characters are; The Man, the Movie, The Legend is a backslapping making-of with an insight into Crowe's training for the role alongside Muhammad Ali's mentor, Angelo Dundee.

Ringside Seats is a disappointment. For some reason the distributors have provided only three rounds of the genuine Baer-Braddock bout; there is good quality video of the whole fight. Jim Braddock: The Family and Friends Behind the Legend offers reminiscences of the champion from his relatives, with some shots of Braddock, who died in 1974, shortly after appearing in Muhammad Ali: The Greatest.

* DVD, rental video today