Review of Million Dollar Baby (2004) by Filipeneto — 25 Jul 2020

I was truly impressed with this film. It is one of the most impressive and intense that I have seen in a while and I believe that it couldn't have had any other destiny than winning the Oscar for Best Motion Picture, in that distant year of 2005. Its also, for me and until now, the best film by Clint Eastwood, where he not only plays one of the most important and complex roles, but also directs. Remarkable!

The film is basically about a young girl from very modest backgrounds who finds her life's course in boxing. The problem is that she is a woman, and all boxing academies reject her because of that. However, she will be able to capture the attention of two coaches, former retired boxers, who accept the task of training and teaching her, each of whom has a past linked to boxing and very complex personal lives. To knew more, its best to see the film, its worth every minute.

Clint Eastwood is the man here. He had already proven himself to be a great actor and great director, that wasn't new when he released this film, but it is difficult to conceive of something that can be even better than this. Eastwood's skilful hand and attentive and detailed style are everywhere and earned him the Oscar for Best Director that year, with all merit and fairness. The script, based on tales by F.X. Toole, was written by Paul Haggis and is excellent. And here I think Eastwood took a chance, given that Haggis had made a career as a screenwriter more associated with television than cinema. But the risk was well rewarded, and the proof is Haggis' collaboration on several Eastwood films from then on.

The cast is not very large and that is a good thing, as it gave the actors time and space to shine. The star is Clint Eastwood, who plays a tough guy with feelings and an unresolved past. Next to her is Hillary Swank, a young actress full of personality and who had already shone in “The Next Karate Kid”, also in a female action character. She was impressive and reached here one of the pinnacles of her career, winning the Oscar for Best Actress for the second time, which is always impressive for an actor. Another actor who deserves a note in this film, and who managed to collect the Oscar for Best Secondary Actor, is the impeccable and already veteran Morgan Freeman. However, and despite being a great actor, this was the only award that the Hollywood Academy has given him so far.

Technically it is an impeccable film. Cinematography provides us with excellent footage and a masterful use of colour, shadow and contrast to express and amplify feelings and moods. The sets and costumes are excellent. The sound effects and soundtrack, very discreet, fulfil their function with merit but without taking our attention away from the story told. The post-production work was also done with care and attention.

Anyone who says that this film is just a boxing film is totally wrong and made a reductive reading of this film. Its a film based on boxing, but it goes far beyond that, offering us much more: a story of poverty, ambition, greed; a story of dreams that are gradually crushed, punch by punch, by the harshness of life and reality; a story about pain, death and loss, in which highly pertinent and debatable moral questions are raised.