Oscarworthy movie

Rating: Null/10 (26 March 2005)

ere, wot's everyone raving about? Million Dollar Baby is the sort of manipulative schmaltzy drivel that wins Best Picture Oscars year after year. Good luck, been there, seen that.
Where to start? First, that annoying voice over which pretty much tells the whole story and reveals what everyone is thinking. The people who wrote this script need to take Screen writing 101.
The next problem I have with this film is the one dimensional characterisation. Morgan Freeman puts in his usual turn as the dignified black man (too bad that his character is redundant to the story). And since when has it been OK to stereotype poor white people from the South. Maggie's family is portrayed as evil welfare cheating trailer trash. The other hillbilly character is the dumb young male boxer with delusions of grandeur. Maggie's final opponent is a vicious Amazon who'd give the Iron Sheik a run for his money - at one point, I expected her to hit Maggie across the back with a folding chair when the referee wasn't looking.
The film fails most miserably where it tries raise questions over life and death and what it means to be alive. Such questions should be examined openly and honestly, or not at all. Unfortunately, MDB only ever deals with these issues superficially. The scenes between Frankie and the priest didn't really ring true and those long ponderous discussions between Frankie and Eddie got pretty tiresome after a while. The fact that Maggie's injury was caused by foul play is just a little too neat for my liking.
The one positive in this film is the luminous Hilary Swank who brings a vibrancy and life to her character. There is a vulnerability about her which makes you want to take her in your arms and protect her - that is until she shows off her massive biceps and starts knocking the snot out of other women.