A Modern-Day Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (18 July 2005)

Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby is a complete and utter masterpiece. It's a realistic piece of film that makes you think long and hard about many controversial subjects, and in a way, inspires you to make the most of your life.
Hilary Swank gives a heart-wrenching performance as Maggie Fitzgerald, a woman who dreams of one day becoming a boxing champion. She is an example of someone who truly earned their Oscar, not due to the dramatics of her performance, but because of the simplicity and truth behind it. She's playing it as a real person with real feelings who gives real reactions, a concept that many previous Academy-Award winners have failed to grasp. She's not out to impress or to out stand, she's simply portraying a character with extreme honesty, and because of that, she succeeds.
Also portraying their characters with brutal honesty and realism are Eastwood (as Frankie Dunn, Maggie's trainer) and Morgan Freeman (as Scrap, a has-been boxer who lost his eye in his last real fight). These three actors have amazing on-screen chemistry, and together, they add to the overall effect of the film.
Although a lot of attention is being brought to the film's controversial ending, I sincerely hope you go into it with an open mind, and decide for yourself how you feel about the right to die.
All-in-all, this is everything that a film should be, and more. From its stand-out performances to its simplistic yet beautiful method of storytelling, Million Dollar Baby is without a doubt the best film of 2004.