A Sickening Blow

Rating: 1/10 (5 March 2005)

Still in shock after watching "Million Dollar Baby". Well, watching most of it, anyway - I walked out towards the end, as the delicious pasta which I had enjoyed for dinner was threatening to make a reappearance.
Don't watch it.
The plot was thin, albeit original and depressingly plausible. The acting was good, but not necessarily Oscar-worthy. The violence was horrible and nauseating.
The only thing I really give it credit for is that it must have taken a lot of courage to make the movie, and must have been very difficult to pitch. It's not an uplifting story. It's a terrible, tragic story with insufficient human insight to make it a worthy tragedy (such as, for instance, "Macbeth" or "For Whom the Bell Tolls"). The story gets progressively worse until it's appalling conclusion, which fortunately I didn't see.
It's afternoon the next day, and I still feel physically ill. I have a mental image of the most horrific moment of the film playing on a continual loop in my head, complete with stereo sound effects.
I cannot, in good conscience, recommend that anyone subject themselves to this movie.