Million Dollar Baby

Eastwood tells the story at a pace well under the Hollywood speed limit, tosses in details so beguiling they seem about to sprout into motion pictures of their own and bathes his subjects in shadows as lovely as those in any Rembrandt.

This heartbreaking film, with its rich performances and simple eloquence, lays claim to greatness.

As good as "Unforgiven." Or, to put it another way, as good as any movie Eastwood has ever directed.

Eastwood takes the audience to raw, profoundly moving places. If you fear strong emotions, this is not for you. But if you want to see Hollywood filmmaking at its most potent, Eastwood has delivered the real deal.

Baby may not be quite as compelling as Mystic River or Unforgiven, but there's something so stirring, and disquieting, too, in his quest that we cannot help but pay close attention to him. In the middle of his long career's third act, he's still searching for the secrets in things with striking resolve. You certainly can't ask more than that of any 75-year-old ex-gunslinger.

With his trademark spare, unfussy direction and jumping into the story approach, Eastwood subtly establishes the themes of faith, loss and love and then he raises the drama to a different level.

A compendium of every cliché from every bad boxing melodrama ever made, Million Dollar Baby tries to transcend its cornball overfamiliarity with the qualities that have long characterized Eastwood's direction -- it's solemn, inflated and dull.

Unreal! I didn't expect 'Million Dollar Baby' to be so astonishingly brilliant. I've said it many a time before but for full context, I do not read up about films before watching them - aside from making sure the film isn't part of a franchise, checking the run time and seeing the genre - so I was expecting this to be a cliché-filled, but still great, sports flick. It's so much more than that. It's way more deeper and has an everlasting impact that I hadn't anticipated. Even across the opening chunk I was predicating the obvious cliché ending, but as the film progresses and, especially, as the final portion rolls around it just absorbed my total attention - I was fully engrossed... hook, line, and sinker. Some film! The cast are simply stunning. Clint Eastwood gives an absolutely fantastic performance, Hilary Swank is truly sensational - especially at the end, damn - and Morgan Freeman is Morgan Freeman; what an actor and what a voice, using him as narrator was a great move. Elsewhere, and though less dramatically, Jay Baruchel, Anthony Mackie, Margo Martindale and Michael Peña also feature interestingly. It's quite the journey the film takes you on, which I just found utterly enthralling to watch unfold. Perfect pacing, perfect acting. I loved watching every second of it and will undoubtedly be revisiting it. I noted days ago that I was rather surprised to learn that Eastwood's 'Unforgiven' had been so heavily acclaimed, on this occasion with this 2004 film I am the complete opposite. I don't care much for awards et al., but I am delighted to see all involved receive their props for this. Chapeau! Marvellous, just marvellous.

4 Oscars? A little inflated. It took a while for 'Million Dollar Baby' to win me over. The poster alone already made me less interested, and boxing has never been a theme in cinema that really grabs me. Still, I watched it because I own the DVD, because of its four Oscars, and because it’s one of the movies parodied in the 'Scary Movie' franchise. I have the same issue here that I do with most films: I keep checking the clock because the movie never fully makes me forget about time passing. The worst moment is when I look at the time thinking half an hour has gone by, only to realize it’s been fifteen minutes. I even fell asleep at one point. But not everything is negative: once the second half begins, I’m more entertained, I feel some tension here and there, and I even imagine myself inside that world of fighting, discipline and self-improvement. Still, the Oscar for Best Picture feels exaggerated. I understand why it was rewarded, mainly because of its message about sacrifice and motivation, which did make me think about several things. That idea of giving everything for a distant goal, even at a huge personal cost, works only halfway for me because I feel both admiration and rejection toward it. I recently watched another film that explored something similar: how far someone is willing to go for their dream without losing themselves in the process. The message works, but it’s also uncomfortable, almost like it romanticizes suffering. The problem is not just the effort itself, but when your fate depends on external factors and the actions of others. At that point, motivation turns into tragedy. I honestly don’t know what feels sadder: failing because you lack talent, or failing because other people ruin your path. Where my feelings become more mixed is with the characters. Clint Eastwood plays an unbearable, cold and rude man at first. However, as the film progresses, the character clearly evolves and I eventually develop empathy for him, even if I never fully shake the feeling that he’s difficult to like. Hilary Swank, as the aspiring boxer, works better as a character than as an emotional experience. Her obsession, vulnerability and need to escape her life never completely hit me emotionally. She acts very well and convincingly portrays determination and effort, but it still isn’t enough to truly break me. Morgan Freeman is easily my favorite part of the movie. He appears with total calmness, never forcing anything, and brings a kind of humor and presence that only he can deliver. A brilliant actor. It hurts to admit it, but this is the first film directed by Eastwood that I’ve seen. His style here feels almost minimalist and extremely calculated. The good thing is that it never becomes grandiose, which fits the dry tone of the story perfectly. But it’s also too predictable. I can sense beforehand which directions the story will take or might take. I understand the structure very early on, although at least the film still manages to keep a slight sense of surprise alive. The climax works because of what it is and what it represents emotionally, not because it completely changes my perspective or shocks me. The execution is always competent and focused, never messy or overblown. My biggest problem, though, is the soundtrack, which becomes annoying after hearing it for more than five minutes. Even if the first half feels slow and heavy, the second half has more strength, rhythm and emotional weight. Ironically, it’s when the drama becomes darker that I finally become more invested in what’s happening. The dialogue feels natural, and I found myself laughing at times despite the serious tone. The mentor-student relationship is clearly the strongest part of 'Million Dollar Baby', but even then, it remains an experience that bored me quite a lot overall, with an impact that, while decent, never reaches the masterpiece status that its reputation suggests.

It’s a boring story with a pointless twist. The pacing isn’t good. On the positive side, Swank gives a fantastic performance.

Million Dollar Baby fait partie de ces films qui n'ont qu'un seul but : faire chialer le public ; il n'a d'ailleurs été fait que dans ce seul but avec les 3 petites notes de piano récurrentes qui n'ont pas d'autre but que d'ouvrir les vannes (en grand). A cet effet, le scénario met tous les moyens en oeuvre pour que les vannes restent ouvertes non seulement au bon moment mais également un peu avant, progressivement, et de plus en plus jusqu'à l'inondation finale. Clint en fait donc des tonnes, à la fois dans le pathos et la misère sociale, à faire mourir de honte les Misérables de notre grand Victor Hugo national. Or, trop c'est trop, on n'est quand même pas complètement con même si son chiale avec les autres, parce que c'est triste, oui, mais c'est clairement exagéré et le mot est faible, très faible. On en arrive à un tel point que lorsqu'ils coupent la pauvrette, on s'esclaffe... la coupe est pleine, Clint, arrête ça déborde ! mais rassurez-vous, on garde des larmes en réserve pour la toute fin. C'est dommage d'en avoir rajouté autant, car la crédibilité est sérieusement mise à mal, y compris lors de "l'accident", invraisemblable... Dommage également pour la justesse des sentiments, de cette amitié qui se construit entre la boxeuse et son manager, entre la fille paumée et le vieux bougre. Même qu'on s'habituait au rabâchage de la voix off du barbon Morgan Freeman, toujours prêt à pérorer à la moindre occasion... Le drame, que dis-je, le mélodrame est un genre très difficile et on a vite fait de tomber dans la caricature, ce dont ce bon vieux Clint ne se prive décidément pas à maintes reprises. Encore dommage pour Hilary pas vraiment hilarante sur ce coup mais qui sait rester la plus sobre des trois entre elle et les bonzes désabusés : elle interprète excellement cette ingénue du malheur... ...malgré les seaux d'eau que lui balance Papy parce que Papy Clint trouve qu'il n'y en a pas assez. Tout cela est gâché, sévèrement gâché alors que pourtant la mise en scène est d'une remarquable précision... j'allais dire "sobre" mais avec un scénar' pareil, on repassera. La pleurnicherie à un million de dollars donc... mais qui ne les vaut certainement pas.

will i watch million dollar baby or will i stick a needle in my eye. Its a difficult decision but i think il go with the needle. Why anyone would want to watch this miserable pile of crap is beyond me but the taste of the unwashed masses generally does. Avoid like the plague