The recent trend in sports films is to amplify a sport's importance and relevance, redefining a game as far more than just a game.
Unlike personal stories such as "Rocky" or "Raging Ball," each from the 70's, sports films now have wider meanings. In films like "Legend of Bagger Vance" and "Seabiscuit," they have been depicted with a new degree of social import, varying in their ability to transform, say, a horse race into a societal turning point.
The key decision made by the uneven director Ron Howard ("A Beautiful Mind") in "Cinderella Man" is to spend considerable time outside the ring, developing the struggles of its characters and the larger context of its story. The result is a film that sells us on a larger world than just a boxing ring.
That said, it hardly starts at a low ebb. Rather, it begins with flash and energy, as Jim Braddock (Russell Crowe) fights beneath the lights of Madison Square Garden, lives the life of a winner and finds himself madly in love......
Join Now or Login to view the rest of this paper.
Approximate Word Count: 673
Approximate Pages: 3 (260 words per double-spaced page) |