Million Dollar Baby Review

Rating: 9/10 (27 July 2018)

Million Dollar baby is a film directed by Clint Eastwood. I wanted to watch the film but circumstances didn't allow me to do so. Finally, Last night I decided to watch it and was blown away.
Plot: Follows Frankie Dunn, an old boxing trainer who decides to train an aspiring female boxer, a thing Frankie has never done in life.
Story and direction: The film is just not about boxing (as I thought it would be). It is about the bonding and emotions formed between characters in the film. This is very well crafted by writer, Paul Haggis and director Eastwood. I was actually quite shocked of the themes the film dealt with. I was just fascinated by each and every scene of the film. The dialogue felt so real and struck a lightning bolt in my heart. I could relate to each and every scene in the film. The cinematography in the film is awesome. The boxing scenes were shot in a beautiful way. What added to the intensity of the boxing is the razor sharp editing. In addition to directing and producing the film, Eastwood also scores the film. Although the score is very minimal (which was apt considering the storyline the film was going for) and employs mostly pianos and guitars, it was very effective. My only flaw of the film was the sudden change of tone. It felt the first half was one film and second was another. If the flow would have been even, thw film would have been a notch higher.
Performances: Clint Eastwood is a multi-talented personality. He acts perfectly. The grumpiness and mellowed version of his character was balanced perfectly by him. Hilary Swank was believable in every scene of the film. The hard work gone through by her is visible clearly. Morgan Freeman, who does serve as narrator too, does a wonderful job in supporting our main characters as well as guiding the audience through this emotional and soulful journey.
Favorite Scene: It would be the scene where Maggie faces her first match with Sally as her manager and Frankie and Scrap watch from the other side of the hall. Frankie repeatedly tells Maggie to keep her left up. But when Frankie realises that Sally is making the match go his way for his own benefit; Frankie steps up to help Maggie. This scene showed the bond formed between Frankie and Maggie and how much Frankie cared for Maggie even if Frankie wants to hide it.
Verdict: No wonder this film won big at the Academy Awards the subsequent year. Filled with earnest performances and a heart-filling emotional story and set-up, the film is definitely as must watch for those who feel that emotions surpass everything.
I am going with a 9/10.