Russell Crowe fights against Brian Helgeland's turgid script although, as the star and one of the producers, he must have been complicit in its development.
Russell's compatriot Brian Baker enjoyed a more successful opening day, reaching the second round of the Australian Open for the first time in his career, beating Florida-based Russian Alex Bogomolov Jr. 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 6-7 (0-7) 3-6 6-2.