Heatbreaker

Rating: 10/10 (5 March 2005)

The most emotionally involving movie I have seen in many years. The only film that has made me cry in the theater since I saw "E.T." when I was 8. Great acting all around, with Morgan Freeman anchoring this great cast. Now I saw it without knowing the surprise ending, and it comes as a total shock.
Our hero Maggie had taken on the boxing world by storm and made a lot of money doing it. By her last fight she is taking on the female boxing champion. Her family doesn't want her and she has no boyfriend. All she has is her boxing family. That is what makes the end so heartbreaking. She would rather die than go on living without being able to fight anymore.
This is one of the best movies in a long time to come out of Hollywood. Clint Eastwood cements his legacy as one of the best directors of all time, and gives his best acting performance since "Unforgiven". Hillary Swank elevates herself to a league of her own. She is a beautiful woman who is talented enough when playing "regular" characters, such as the cop in "Insomnia". But as a female cross dresser in "Boys Don't Cry" and in this film as a musclebound boxer, she takes it to a level most female actors couldn't. You can tell how hard she worked to make this role believable because when she boxes you forget it is Hillary Swank in the ring.