I've since come to appreciate biography/historical movies better, and is the type of movie that I'd like having a quiet afternoon to catch alone. The time and space alone, gives me the opportunity to step into the person's life, and give some thought of my own as well.
Finally rented this movie to watch, and I loved it. =)
Though it basically carries an underdog story seen in other movies, that it being historical and based on a real sports wonder person, is cool.Russell Crowe plays Jim Braddock, starting the story as the promising boxer who has never been knocked out. A bright future for his boxing career, and his family in the blink of an eye, was out for the count, right as the great depression era kicked in. That coupled with injury on his main boxing master right hand, paved for the gloomy days.
They lost everything. With such hardy days, shadowed with a glorious past, Jim maintained a very respectable standard of ethics and uprightness, and faithfulness to his wife.
Their oldest son, hearing stories of kids being sent away as their family couldn't provide for them, stole some meat out of fear. Jim responded firmly by bringing his son back to shop and corrected things, and had the loving capacity to hear out his son's fear, and wrapped the episode with a promise, never to separate them away.
I could feel something stuck at my throat at the scene where Jim chose to endure humiliation, begging for money from his old boxing associates, so as to keep the promise. A wife struggling between sustaining the family and losing her husband in the boxing ring, kids who are in need, embarrasment of being a has-been, fear and pressure of his gradual return to the ring, facing a younger boxer who had already killed 2 in the ring. He stood steadfast in the midst of the sinking surroundings. That's really something...almost fairytale like. No wonder he was called the Cinderella Man by a radioman at the time.Interestingly, I've come to realise more of the role of a boxer's manager from the movie. During a match, the manager stands by his boxer at the side. He is the one who sees everything, from a bigger perspective. He is able to see the opponent's weaknesses which a boxer may be blinded from, in the midst of the furious action and mind-numbing punches received. And in between rounds, he sets the perspective for the boxer who may be dis-illusioned, he encourages and psyches his boxer up to perservere in the fight, pushing him into the fullest potential possible. But also, he is the one who knows when is the time for the fighter to throw in the towel...for a rest.
In the movie, Jim's manager, also his best friend, sold his possessions just so that Jim could properly train without worrying about making ends meet. And while others saw Jim as history and a joke, he saw the special passionate strength and potential within.We would like to have that someone in our life as we hang on in the ring of life, wouldn't we? One who stays, and sees what others don't or dismisses.
Fact is, Jim Braddock became the inspiration of all the folks around during that era, showing them the once-familiar notion of hope...that there's something to fight and perservere for. That all's not lost...that it is possible.
It's still true today isn't it?
We would all love to be shown, what a hero looks like.
