Best film of the year.

Rating: 10/10 (16 December 2004)

This is the best picture of the year -- and Eastwood's finest since "Unforgiven." With "Million Dollar Baby," Eastwood has crafted a powerful yet tender story of ambition and remorse, of fearless fighters and broken hearts.
Like "Mystic River," it's a tragedy -- but unlike "Mystic River," it packs an emotional wallop, punching into the viewer gradually, jabbing and hooking, weaving a bit, then slamming the audience hard with tragedy, knocking us out with a painful blow that never once rings sentimental, or false. Freeman is superb, as always, while Swank proves the genius demonstrated in "Boys Don't Cry" was no fluke. Eastwood gives one of the most sensitive performances of his career. His score contains elements of "Mystic River" and "Bridges of Madison County," yet seems perfectly suited to this, a completely different story. Tom Stern's moody cinematography and Henry Bumstead's decrepit sets are superb, often evoking a sense of the past, while never revealing a specific era. The fight scenes are among the most realistic ever filmed. All in all this Eastwood at his very best -- a true American artist who not only refuses to take off the gloves and leave the ring -- he simply gets better and better with each round. 10 out of 10.