Review of Million Dollar Baby (2004) by Ben L — 07 Mar 2015

I'm not sure how Million Dollar Baby managed to slip by me in 2004 when it was up for all those Oscars and even won Best Picture. I'm a fan of sports films, and usually enjoy seeing what the Academy is giving awards to, but somehow this one eluded me. I'm glad that I have now caught up on what I missed, because this movie is a real treat. Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman are absolutely amazing as the 2 gruff old guys who work in a boxing gym training all kinds of young fighters. However the real stand-out performance in this movie comes from Hilary Swank. She is so endearing as Maggie, that you can totally see how she gets under Eastwood's gruff exterior and into his heart. The conversations in this film are tonally perfect because it seems from the words that are being spoken that there is no emotion involved in any of these relationships, but because of the excellent performances you can sense the underlying affection each of the main characters has for one another. I did think that there were a few too many extraneous storylines that could have been jettisoned, so the movie probably could have come in under 2 hours. Jay Baruchel's role in particular felt extraneous, and sidetracked the story occasionally.

One thing I definitely have to applaud in Million Dollar Baby is how expertly they captured the boxing. The matches felt raw and real. Each punch was realistic and if I didn't know better I'd think I was watching footage from an actual match. The entire montage of Maggie bouncing from one match to the next was absolutely amazing, and I would have been happy if they had just continued down that path for the rest of the film. Of course the writers had other ideas, but I was totally on board for wherever this movie took me because I was fully invested in those 3 main characters. Eastwood and his director of photography also do a great job with the lighting and the use of color in most of the scenes. I really appreciated the visual style they used throughout and how they played with shadows and light in order to enhance certain scenes. Even the music sets the proper tone, and is utilized sparingly but effectively. I think if you haven't seen Million Dollar Baby, then it is one you might want to check out even if you're not a fan of boxing. The acting is stellar, and the action feels authentic. Plus the story takes you on a roller coaster of emotions that will stay with you for awhile after you're done watching.