Review of Million Dollar Baby (2004) by Seanp. — 19 Feb 2007

Wow. Years ago, I loved Mystic River and Unforgiven, but I skipped this movie. Then, recently, I just saw Letters from Iwo Jima, and after loving that, I finally went back and saw this. Gawd, what a director Eastwood is; his spare, autumnal, solemn, measured style, mostly apparent in this and Letters, reminds me, I kid you not, of prime Ingmar Bergman.

Also, I agree with Daniel K. below: this is NOT a boxing film, in the same way that Raging Bull was not a boxing film, and that Hoop Dreams was not a basketball film. Like those classics, Million Dollar Baby is a powerful human drama that just happens to have a sport in it as a backdrop, more as a setting than a subject.

And, ironically, that method is what makes the greatest sports films. If you have the patience and are in the mood for a carefully paced and consistently somber film, and you don't require explosions and gross-out humor and staccato MTV editing, you'll appreciate this movie.

For everyone else, i'm sorry.