'Cinderella' year's first Oscar contender

Boxing films have a long history of being directed by the tough guys. Martin Scorsese and "Raging Bull," Michael Mann and "Ali" and even Clint Eastwood with last year's Oscar-winning "Million Dollar Baby," all three are films directed by men whose prior films backed them up when it came to directing pugilistic pictures. In comes Ron "Happy Days" Howard, a director who I never really saw capable of doing a boxing flick. After seeing "Cinderella Man," I have to say Richie Cunningham did one incredible job.\nThe year is 1929 and James J. Braddock (Russell Crowe) is slowly climbing the heavyweight boxing ranks until his career comes crashing down along with the stock market. Enter the Great Depression, where Braddock no longer lives in a fancy house with wife Mae (Renée Zellweger) and is instead reduced to living among the poor of New Jersey. Barely able to feed his family and rarely finding work at the local shipping docks, all seems lost until Jim's old boxing coach Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti) comes with one final fighting offer down at Madison Square Garden. With the luck of the Irish, Jim takes down the next man in line to the title and slowly works his way up the ranks once again leading up to a bout with titleholder Max Baer (Craig Bierko), the same wrecking machine who killed two men in the ring. \nCrowe as Jim Braddock is a perfect casting decision. Previously having worked with Howard on "A Beautiful Mind," Crowe is able to turn in another performance where he is just a simple man instead of an arena warrior ("Gladiator") or seafaring swashbuckler ("Master & Commander"). His fight is not for fame and glory, but a humbling battle to put food and milk on the table, and he never even comes close to arrogance. Zellweger turns in the typical but integral performance as the caring wife who isn't supportive of her husband's boxing lifestyle. Giamatti, who was snubbed for a "Sideways" Oscar nomination, is in the running for a Best Supporting Actor statue as he portrays Jim's ring corner coach whose performance is incredibly convincing. The rest of the cast fairs well, mainly Bierko and Bruce McGill, the latter playing boxing promoter Jimmy Johnston, but they never steal the show from Crowe and Giamatti.\nWhen it comes to the crew, Howard and the gang do an excellent job. The screenwriting duo of Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman penned a story that tugs on the heartstrings with great aid from Thomas Newman's swelling musical score to keep the tears flowing. Cinematographer Salvatore Totino, who has only worked on three previous films including Howard's clunker "The Missing," convincingly captures Depression-era New Jersey from the dirty loading docks to the dark horrors of "Hooverville" shantytowns. And at the end of it all, director Ron Howard has quite possibly made the best film of his career after playing the Hollywood hit-or-miss game for far too long. He keeps the matches brutal yet still believable while making sure the film isn't just about boxing. \nWhile it is summer and Oscar season is still far away, "Cinderella Man" is a triumphant film that has the staying power to still be remembered seven months from now and long afterwards. It isn't the best boxing flick of all time, a title still held by "Raging Bull" in my book, but "Cinderella Man" definitely puts to shame the rest of the competition.