Clint Eastwood turns in another great movie

Rating: 8/10 (6 January 2014)

Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) is an old hand at training. His latest fighter (Anthony Mackie) doesn't have the heart and he's reluctant to get him the championship shot. Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) is a self professed white trash. She scrounge enough money for the gym, but Frankie refuses to train her because she's too old. She won't give up, and with the help an old retired fighter Eddie Dupris (Morgan Freeman), she convinces Frankie to give her a chance.
This is a great standard underdog sports story for 3/4 of the movie. It works great. Clint and Morgan are old hands at this. They cancel each other a bit with their grumbling voices and their gruff demeanor. Hilary Swank is perfect for the role. She's no princess. She can definitely play the hungry white trash role.
Then the last 30 minutes turn dark. It's a change in tone. It has difficult things to say. If it could be edited down, it could be even better. After the big climatic fight, the final ending takes a little too long. But that's a minor pacing problem in an otherwise compelling great movie.