Review of Million Dollar Baby (2004) by Jonathan P — 22 Aug 2011

Million Dollar Baby is one of the most beautifully acted movies in recent memory. Hilary Swank does one of the most amazing jobs of any actress I have ever seen in her role. I was hesitant to give this a watch as girls boxing is overly clumsy and ugly to watch and those are professionals.

I figured with Swank in the lead it would be a disaster...but I was shocked at how natural she looked in the role. Swank deserved the best actress award for one of the best female performances I have ever seen.

All this said however what kept this becoming on of those movies that I immediately run out and purchase was the overly sappy ending and all the unanswered questions. Did the boxer get punished for what she did to Fitzgerald? Why did she lose if the other boxer had already been warned? I get the ending wanted us to draw our own conclusion and I am fine with that.

..it is all the other questions that bothered me. Still not much can be criticized as Clint Eastwood brings an unusual boxing story to life and makes even the most masculine sports fan enjoy a movie about a woman athlete in a male dominated sport.