The team that brought us A Beautiful Mind several years ago - director Ron Howard, screenwriter Akiva Goldsman and actor Russell Crowe - are back with another biopic. Cinderella Man is the story of James J. Braddock, an Irish fighter who lost it all during the Great Depression but rose again to become a champion. It's a true Cinderella story.

Cinderella Man begins just before the Stock Market Crash of 1929. James Braddock (Russell Crowe) is winning and on top of the world with his happy marriage to Mae (Renee Zellweger) and their beautiful home - but all that is about to change. Braddock, like most, is hit hard by the Great Depression and several years later, the Braddock's are living in a basement apartment with no heat. Work on the docks is meager and due to a broken hand and run of bad luck his fighting career is over. But friend and former manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti) gets him one small fight. To everyone's surprise, Braddock wins. Even more surprisingly, he continues to win. Eventually, he's considered for the title shot against the deadly Max Baer (Craig Bierko) (who really did kill two men in the ring).

Of all the sports, boxing lends itself to some of the best movies: Raging Bull, Rocky, and Million Dollar Baby. I think because it's an individual sport. There isn't a team with a multitude of subplots to muddle the story. With boxing, it is the singular story of the singular effort of one man (or woman) entering the ring and facing one other man (or woman). It's simple. It's straightforward. It's dramatic. It's action. In Cinderella Man that one man, James J. Braddock enters the ring fighting for his dignity and his humanity during a time when those things were in short supply.

During the fight sequences, I looked around and the audience was on the edge of their seats, literally. There were random cheers and outbreaks of applause, always a good sign. But the scene that had the most impact for me didn't take place in the ring. Braddock, facing a winter with no heat, goes with hat in hand, to his old boxing cronies and begs for the money he needs to pay the heating bill. Braddock is fighting for his family and his dignity takes the KO. It's one of those scenes that just sticks with you.

As far as performances, Russell Crowe does what he does best, the introverted, intense man who reaches down within himself and, through nothing but sheer resolve, beats the odds. Crowe could receive another Oscar nomination for this one. So could Paul Giamatti as Joe Gould, Braddock's manager and friend. Who doesn't fare so well in my estimation is Renee Zellweger. She's not bad but her co-stars (Crowe and Giamatti) brought their Oscar-caliber game and hers just isn't up to snuff. In her defense, the character of Mae has two basic modes, doting on her husband and worry about her husband and family.

At an indulgent two and a half hours, Cinderella Man could have been a little tighter. But Howard does an amazing job capturing the details of Depression era New York and New Jersey. He also gives the film a nostalgic and opulent look by filming in beautiful warm sepia tones. He's created a movie with a real authentic feel.

While not quite a dramatic TKO, Cinderella Man definitely wins by unanimous decision.