| Film and DVD Reviews FILM REVIEW
Cinderella Man
By Patrick Ryan
Everybody loves a feelgood movie, especially one that’s as well crafted
as this. Cinderella Man is the true-life account of how Jim Braddock rose
from the breadline to boxing world heavyweight champion against the backdrop
of the Great Depression.
It’s easy to be dismissive of this kind of film. Manipulative is a word
that cynics often use to describe feelgood films, but that would be closing
yourself off to one of the best movie experiences of the year.
Ron Howard has created his masterpiece; you can feel every punch that
Braddock takes in the ring and feel the hunger of him and his family outside
of it.
It doesn’t hurt that Russell Crowe is his leading man.
A potent mix of sensitivity and brooding male pride, Crowe is one of
the best actors in the business and his performance here will only compound
that.
Renée Zellweger also shines in a role that requires her to be more than
the usual supportive wife.
The film is gorgeously shot, unashamedly optimistic and really gets under
your skin.
Many people have dubbed it as a cross between Seabiscuit and Rocky, and
that’s a comparison that’s easy to see.
But that doesn’t change the fact that Cinderella Man is a film that is
well made and hugely entertaining.
Starring Russell Crowe, Reneé Zellweger, Paul Giamatti and Craig Bierko.
Directed by Ron Howard.
Out nationwide now.
Green Street
FILM REVIEW
By Richard Purden
Films about British working-class subculture from Quadrophenia to Trainspotting
often act as a window to an unknown world.
Similar to Trainspotting and Clockwork Orange, Green Street has been
accused of celebrating the darker edges of society. What the film does well
is provide a window to the football casual, a culture associated with smart
European-style clothing stemming from the Mod sensibilities and attitudes
of the ’60s.
Elijah Wood plays Matt Buckner, a wrongfully-disgraced journalist who
displays Frodo Baggins-type innocence by covering for someone else’s mistake.
Visiting his sister in London he falls in with his brother-in-law’s gang
of West Ham casuals.
Although Wood is a fine actor and believable here to a point, he just
doesn’t cut it as a thug. To give German director Lexi Alexander her due
the film does capture the authenticity of the casuals — we see why this
young male working-class subculture is alluring. It raises questions of
community, identity and loyalty, something Matt has been missing. But by
the end of the film these notions are rendered futile through Leo Gregory’s
character Bover. Gregory is one of the best things on display here. He is
completely convincing as a demonic, dangerous and despicable thug and brings
some much-needed weight to the screen.
Unlike the leads he is familiar with the world he is portraying. Marc
Warren is also excellent in a supporting role. Far from glamorising the
violence the characters have no family life, the gang is everything which
at times feels claustrophobic and stifling.
A Hollywood ending is contrary to the feel. Lead Charlie Hunnam (more
mockney than cockney) like Wood also fails as a tough guy and this is what
lets the film down. They may be bankable actors but in a problem symptomatic
of modern cinema they can’t carry off the roles.
Starring Elijah Wood, Charlie Hunnam, Leo Gregory and Marc Warren.
Directed Lexi Alexander.
Out nationwide now.
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