Review of Million Dollar Baby (2004) by Jorge M — 25 Mar 2011

[b]Million Dollar Baby (2004) [/b].

[b]Starring:[/b] Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Jay Baruchel, Mike Colter...

[b]Directed by:[/b] Clint Eastwood.

[b]Synopsis:[/b] A hardened trainer/manager (Clint Eastwood) works with a determined woman (Hilary Swank) in her attempt to establish herself as a boxer. (Source: IMDb).

[b]Thoughts I Had Before Watching:[/b] I've heard it was good. Really good. Of course I knwe about the Academy Award for Best Picture, and I've heard that the three leads (Swank, Eastwood, and Freeman) were fantastic. Every time I went to Blockbuster, my mother kept telling me to take out this one, but for some reason I never listened to her. I think I wasn't really drawn to "yet another boxing sports drama". Last week, I sort of felt like watching it, and rented out. Boy, was it everything but yet another boxing sports drama...

[b]Storyline/Script:[/b] Of all the sports that have been covered in movies throughout the years, boxing is probably the one that has been done the most times. So, it's 2004, and you'd probably think that yet another one would be filled with clichés of the genre: underdog that has nothing, except for a passion and will power, and ends up winning everything, overcoming all of his/her obstacles. Well, "Million Dollar Baby" knocks you out hard on this one. Though it starts off like this one, the movie goes in a completely unexpected direction, in a good way. More than aa boxer that's trying to make her way doing the only thing she's good at, the film explores so many complex and profound themes, such as family (both the real one and the one you acquire with time), the meaning of life and death, friendship, and a very complicated ethic dilemma right at the end. And it is so much touching and penetrating that I ever thought it would be. You get to love and care for every single one of the characters and their situations, and you suffer along with them. An almost perfectly guided story, which actually shows the harsh reality of many sportmen, and humans in general, than most sports drama would like to admit. Daring. Beautiful. [b]28/30[/b].

[b]Acting:[/b] Wow. I'm sorry, for the excessive use of this reference term, but these guys just knocked me out. They blew me away. Hilary Swank was just absolutely fantastic as Maggie Fitzgerald, the girl who doesn't have anything and whose only dream is to be trained by Frankie Dunn. I especially loved her in the second part of the film, after she...well, to save those of you who haven't seen it from major spoilers, after she lost a fight. I loved how she imprinted that immense likeability and will of living to her character. I haven't seen "Boys Don't Cry", but her performance here was extremely deserving of that second Academy Award. The other highlight of the film is Clint Eastwood. Besides being one of the coolest guys alive (really), and one of the most talented and versatile directors of our time, he continues to prove that he is the hell of an actor before everything else. He is just as good as Hilary Swank is, or probably better. Frankie Dunn was just such a complex and deep character, with whom you feel so sympatethic for, and yet want to keep his distance. Brilliant. Just brilliant. And Morgan Freeman was just excellent as well, but inmy opinion, he wasn't as strong as the other two were. Probably because he didn't as much on-screen time. I would've given it the Academy Award to Eastwood instead of him without thinking it twice. I also loved Maggie's family (God, I just wanted to murder that mother...), and a pleasant surprise by Jay Baruchel. But every single member of the cast delivers perfectly. [b]29/30[/b].

[b]Behind the Cameras:[/b] Absolutely amazing direction by Clint Eastwood. He knew what he wanted, he knew the direction he was leading the movie to, and he delivered amazingly well. All of the aspects of the film are outstanding, but I particularly loved the flawless usage of lights and shadows. It's one of the films with the best use of lighting I've seen. There was work that was just as strong behind the cameras as it was in front of them, and it shows. [b]19/20[/b].

[b]Entertainment/Fun Factor:[/b] Dramatic. Intriguing. Touching. Never boring. It kept me in the edge of my seat the entire time, caring for each one of the characters, and actually worrying about what would happen next with them. Few movies can truly accomplish this, and few movies stick with you after you finished it as strongly as this one. It makes you think about life. Not another boxing film, folks. [b]19/20[/b].

[b]Highest Point:[/b] All of the second half of the film, when Maggie is in the hospital and all of the repercursions it brings along. I loved practically every scene that involved Clint Eastwood and Hilary Swank interacting, or Clint Eastwood alone. The scene where Maggie's family visit her in the hospital, as well as when she goes visit them, is just gutwrenching.

[b]Lowest Point:[/b] Morgan Freeman wasn't onscreen enough. If he was good like this and he won an Academy Award, imagine if his character would have given more opportunity to develop...

[b]Would I Recommend It?[/b] Of course I would. It's a fantastic film, and it would easily please all types of audiences. Fantastic story, fantastic performances, fantastic movie. Don't let yourselves be fooled by the clichés you think a boxing movie may have, like I was. Leave that to "The Fighter". "Million Dollar Baby" is an amazing piece of film, rightuflly deserving of all the accolades it got, and probably one of the most outstanding Best Picture winners of the past decade.

[b]My Final Rating:[/b] 95%.