One of the Best Best Pictures

Rating: 10/10 (9 March 2005)

In recent memory, no Best Picture has deserved its honor more than Million Dollar Baby. Not Gladiator, not Chicago, not A Beautiful Mind, not even The Return of the King. All of those films were notable for certain wonderful aspects, but in some way or another, they just don't reach the zenith of cinema that is Million Dollar Baby. I'll confess, I'm a huge fan of Clint Eastwood as a director. That alone, however, isn't enough for me when critiquing his films. I liked Mystic River, but its third act was (to put it very kindly) weak. Unforgiven is a masterpiece of a western, but no Clint Eastwood effort that I've yet seen tears open its heart so honestly and nakedly as this film. This film is all about the essence of life and living, and the debate raged by Michael Medved and other political hacks cannot detract from its impact on any viewer. Beating Saving Private Ryan, it's the closest a film has come to making me cry in a theater. I almost did, and it's my own fault for not letting in enough, but that's beside the point. The point here? Million Dollar Baby is an excellent film, rich with character, plot, and unspeakable heartache. You have to see it immediately, and try to hold back (like I did) when Eastwood visits his priest the last time. I won't give away any more than that.