Well done, but it's been done before

Rating: 6/10 (3 July 2006)

Million Dollar Baby is a tired story done well. Everything here has been seen before, apart from the last 20 minutes. What makes it different is that everything is done well. The acting is spectacular all around, in fact, it's easy to forget that it's all been done before (though Morgan Freeman's role is too short for Oscar worthiness. Not that it means he didn't deserve the statue.). Clint Eastwood gets every effect and emotion that he can out of every frame. Paul Haggis's screenplay uses the simple grit of everyday life poetically. While there is a very familiar storyline, the plot elements have been used in ways that make them seem fresh. I mentioned that the last 20 minutes is different than what has been seen before. This is true, and I do not want to give anything away. But the rest of the film leaves such an impression that what originality is left has been tainted. Is this an Oscar worthy picture? Perhaps, for the acting and the directing and the writing. But not Best Picture.