Hopefully Clint "likes the smell too much"

Rating: Null/10 (9 July 2005)

Well, I saw it. Despite hearing Swank's delivery of "Don't you say that if it ain't true" dozens of times and knowing the would-be general setting of boxing wouldn't be my cup o' tea I saw the film and liked it more than disliked. There are already some 650 comments here so I shan't discuss the whole. Nevertheless, some points follow (mainly for those who have already seen the film).
A critic called the cinematography "hopefully the closest thing he'll ever get to glaucoma". That's a zinger right there, though I know not the effects of said condition. Now, during the (visually) darker moments it does look a bit peculiar to say the least, but overall I liked the look.
Haggis has written some quality dialogue (though not always present) so I'll see "Crash" now, too. The Scrap voice-over is mostly well-used, disappear though it does suddenly (rightfully so, perhaps). However, I don't like the way the "bad guys" (the family included) have been written, and "it" would have made much more of an impact had it not been "executed" by this idiot filled with pure evil. Accidents happen.
The story is eventually a very ordinary one. Think about it. There's the first part - nothing special there - and there's the second part, the "after" part, which is a tad too sentimental - necessary though that may be (why am I complaining?) - and for some reason too much for the tender (go figure). I actually prefer the "before" part. "Mar adentro", also from last year, deals with this particular matter in a much better way than the final third here. But maybe I shouldn't even compare the two; the films have less in common than is thought, actually.
The film is a good one, I'll give you that, but it isn't a masterpiece. The harsh division into two separate pieces shouldn't perhaps have been the thing to do so the whole suffers, and the script is far from great. And I didn't cry.