A real tearjerker; Eastwood knows what's up

Rating: 9/10 (23 February 2011)

It's funny how life can sometimes turn lemons into lemonade and vice-versa. I've been knocked down by the flu for the last week, cursing my raspy cough and the boredom of bed-rest. AMC has started up their recent Oscar-nominated run this week with the Oscars hitting on Saturday night, and this movie is one they're showing at various times this week. So as I was laying in bed feeling sorry for myself, I turned this movie on just as it was starting, and I was enthralled for the next three hours.
I've seen quite a few Eastwood flicks over the last several years, and I loved Gran Turino, his most recent movie. But this movie tops them all. First of all, Eastwood is outstanding. He was nominated for best actor by the Oscars the year this came out, and it's easy to see why. He's the perfect boxing trainer. He channels a little bit of Mick, but he comes across as a heck of a lot less cartoonish. But the multiple directions that he takes the character, from his estrangement with his daughter to the protecting of Swank's character (maybe he saw her as a replacement for his daughter) were great.
The only person that upstaged Eastwood, however, was Hillary Swank. I hadn't taken Swank seriously as an actress for several years since her Beverly Hills 90210 days. She seemed like she was set for TV from the get-go. But in the last few years, she's acted in two movies that have really changed my opinion of her acting abilities. This movie is the first one, obviously, and the second was Freedom Writers, which she also directed. She was outstanding in both, but this movie set the bar extremely high. The thing is that she's so believable as a boxer, but there are so many other facets to her performance. Anybody that's grown up in a small town and escaped could tell you what it's like to try to reconnect to a family that doesn't understand you anymore, and she portrays that so well on the screen. It's heartbreaking. Swank took an Oscar for best actress from this movie (her second), and there is a lot of dispute as to whether it was earned, as always. Coincidentally, this was also the second time that she beat out Annette Benning for best actress. Personally, I thought her performance was Oscar-worthy.
Morgan Freeman was playing Red again from Shawkshank Redemption, but this time he was nominated and won an Oscar for a supporting role, rather than losing best actor in a leading role as in Shawshank. He was typical Freeman. He's the glue that holds things together.
Overall, the movie was a real eye-opener. The main theme "Always Protect Yourself" is so true in all walks of life, and it's a truth that a lot of us have to discover the hard way, I suppose.