There’s a scene in the 2005 boxing flick Cinderella Man that has always stuck with me for some reason. Cinderella Man stars Russell Crowe as James Braddock, an Irish-American boxer who left the sport due to a hand injury. Set during the Great Depression, Braddock’s former manager, Joe Gould (played by Paul Giamatti), recruits the financially struggling Braddock to participate in a match that would net them both cash. Braddock wins in an upset.
The film depicts Braddock as a desperately poor, literally showing him begging for money. Conversely, it depicts Gould and his family as financially comfortable—well-off, even.