Mo Cuishle...

Rating: 9/10 (20 July 2005)

About Clint Eastwood's last movie I'd heard it was something we had seen a million times; very cliché. I don't pretend to get inside the story, because I shouldn't tell much of it, but it is, with a simple look, what we've already seen in "Rocky", and maybe in "Karate Kid"; two classic movies of the genre. But Clint Eastwood doesn't dig the classic, he digs the proper; and the fact of not winning the awards he won this year with "Mystic River" is intriguing. And "Million Dollar Baby" won them not because of its relation with other films, but on its own right.
The emotional power this movie has and many other things, are comparable to the equally good "Mystic River". The thing is Eastwood knows how great he is and he closes with the credits in white; simple, over the black screen in both films. Anyway, "Million Dollar Baby" is another movie, and if it entered late in the radar, it didn't matter because Eastwood knew what he had in his hands and what it would be, more than anyone.
Again he looked for stories that excellent screenwriters would adapt (Brian Helgeland the last time, now Paul Haggis), composed the music and produced his piece. However he is not proud, and if one doesn't know what is to see, finds out about all this in the end. This round, he added an habitual detail in his directions, that turned down a couple of years ago, but concluded now in another Oscar nomination: his performance in the movie. Between the darkness and the lights sow well handled under his lead, I was able to see some faces that spoke for themselves, and acted. The pro was also thrilling in the beautifully written chats Frankie, his character, shared with Scrap (played by Morgan Freeman). With a lot of knowledge, both men exchanged words as the figures they are and as their characters, friends who have been giving each other support since always, and know that's not going to change, so they're not afraid of honesty. These chats turn out to be between the film's best moments.
Clint directed and acted in top form, without forgetting about the partners around him. In Hilary Swank he saw the love and commitment with acting, getting the best of her, en what is more than a transformation. The transformation is part of the commitment, but the love enters in knowing how to use it, because: What good does a transformation has if it won't be taken advantage of? Completing one of the best ensemble works I've seen since...Well, since "Mystic River", Morgan Freeman played his cards once again, narrating and talking wisely to receive the Oscar he should have had over a decade ago for "The Shawshank Redemption", were he was splendid.
The way Clint Eastwood has to escape from the obvious (a man who directed lots of westerns, which are pretty obvious), can be seen clearly in all those moments where you're waiting something typical and his camera, or his movie's script, doesn't give it to you. In "Rocky", the man trained by himself, and felt proud of that; in "Million Dollar Baby", our girl is in desperate need for one only trainer, and besides being proud of, loves him. It's amazing how he loves her back.