How to rescue a plain script

Rating: 6/10 (7 September 2005)

OK, I'll admit it right away: I think boxing is a most barbaric activity. And anyone who enjoys it ought to get their head examined. Or punched at, just so they can ponder whether it's really a "sport".
As a result, the environment in which the action was set left me cold, if not upset. Still, I had decided to see that movie, out of curiosity  after all, it had won awards. The camera and lighting work was flawless and very creative. Hilary Swank does deliver an endearing image. Yet the whole story reeks of "déjà vu". The action is linear, usually predictable, and clichés about the tough guys mumbling in a barely understandable tone are, frankly, quite worn out.
Considering I had seen Ingmar Bergman's magnificent Saraband a few days earlier, I experienced quite a sobering evening with Million Dollar Baby.
Another case of Hollywood trying to act intellectual.