Shining light on an Amazing film

Rating: 10/10 (22 October 2018)

Million Dollar Baby-
Kind of film that makes you stop, put what you're doing down, and really watch what's on screen. I've seen a few films by Clint Eastwood before, but I've never really enjoyed them. His recent middle eastern film wasn't all that (so much so that I can't remember the name) and, to be completely honest, I wasn't a fan of Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Too Long, I thought, Just find whatever you're looking for and move on. But that changed with this film.
The first that really struck me was the lighting. All filmmaking and photography is the capture of light on film (or albeit nowadays a digital sensor), so if you're really going to hook in your audience the first way you can do so is with your lighting. Eastwood really captures the audience's attention with this film by way of the lighting. Especially in the night-time scenes, a clear and deliberate action is made to use light as a means of storytelling.
A specific scene comes to mind when Big Willie arrives at Dunn's home, Eastwood's character. Here a mesmerizing spotlight is used as a storytelling device. The light shines as the moonlight through the window and into the house. It shines upon Dunn's face and illuminates his face completely, casting a shadow on the background and foreshadows the spectacle to come. I could go into further detail but you really need to see it to enjoy it.
5/5 Would watch again.