One a Million - No make that a trillion.

Rating: 9/10 (17 September 2005)

This is the best film this side of the year 2000. It is a moving tribute to Clint Eastwood's superior film making abilities and a film that has made an everlasting mark on the film industry. This film sports a beautiful cast of wonderful characters who are genuinely cared for by the audience, and the performances by Hilary Swank (who won the Best Actress Oscar for her role), Clint Eastwood (who shoulda won the Best Actor Oscar, but had to settle for the Best Direction and Picture Oscars instead), and Morgan Freeman (who procured the Best Supporting Actor Oscar) are fantastic, to say the least. So we know it is an Oscar winner, but so what? Well I'll tell you so what. This film is not only deserving of these awards but more praise and recognition than any other film made after the year 2000, and that goes for Gladiator, Training Day, Adaptation and even Clint's earlier film, Mystic River. Not only do the performances gleam, but the story is brilliant, moving and even based on true events. The moods created by Clint's unique direction and the superb acting talents of these main actors, is incomparable to any of the aforementioned films, and the style is not only beautiful but often mesmerising. You want to jump with glee as you see Clint and his boxing prodigy Hilary Swank aspire to great success, but you also feel the horrible snapping of your own nerves as you watch what becomes of them when Hilary's character Margaret Fitzgerald, is left paralysed after a fight. The film will definitely have some in tears, as I had to control the urge to let go and sob my eyes out myself, which I find is hard for a film to do. It is compelling to watch and the overall experience has helped me understand why my most respected director Martin Scorsese missed out on his Oscar. The truth is that Clint out-directed him and made a film that was a lot better to watch, and I think that if there is only one film worth watching this side of the millennium, it has to be Million Dollar Baby.