Ron Howard shares story of one man's efforts to save the family that he loves from living a life of poverty with no food, electricity, or chance to survive. Cinderella Man, directed by Ron Howard in 2005, is the story of James Braddock, a washed-up boxer who is trying to save his family by re-entering the ring and becoming a champion, but what he gets is even better. He becomes an inspiration to all the families that are in a similar position.
The historical aspect that is presented in this film is the Great Depression. We have all learned about this horrible time in our history books, but this movie shows the true pain and anguish that the people that lived during this time had to go through. It showed the pain and how hard it was to actually get a job and find work. It showed the men lining up at the gate jumping up and down just trying to get picked to make enough money for the day to put food on their families table. Ron Howard captured this by bringing in a hero of the time. "Jimmy" Braddock (Russell Crowe) was a champion boxer, until he reached his prime and then got hit with the Great Depression. After he was put back in the ring only one time, Jimmy proved himself.
He begged for another chance to be back in the ring. His wish was granted, and he was back. He was known as the underdog, the comeback man. Finally he won his way all the way up to the championship fight. Everyone expected him to get killed while fighting in the ring. His wife, Mae (Renée Zellweger), begged him not to fight. Mae claimed that they would be fine and that he no longer needed to win them any more money. Jimmy did not listen, he went and fought and won. He instantly became an inspiration to all the people he knew.