Million Dollar Baby

(c) A.J. Malouin 2008

(Rating: 5 by Al.)
This is a gritty, realistic, sometimes hard-to-watch film about the world of boxing. It has an excellent performance by Clint Eastwood as the trainer who has one last and reluctant shot at bringing a contender to a world-champion bout. It has Hilary Swank giving an excellent performance as a female boxer who starts late on the road to a potential championship. It’s a movie about the violent and debilitating sport of boxing and is, therefore, hard to watch at times, especially toward the end. Swank should win Best Actress for this portrayal, we think.

Originally written in February, 2005, this review shows that we (occasionally) *do* know what we’re writering about: Swank *did* win the Best Actress Oscar, a month or so later, for her portrayal of the boxer Maggie Fitzgerald.

Beyond that, “Million Dollar Baby” was also nominated for Oscars in Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Picture, Directing, Editing, and Supporting Actor.

Morgan Freeman won for Supporting Actor; Clint Eastwood won for Director; and Eastwood, Tom Rosenberg, and Albert S. Ruddy won an Oscar for “Best Motion Picture of the Year.”