Uplifting Yet Sad..Not typical Eastwood Fare...

Rating: 10/10 (30 April 2005)

this is the kind of movie you have to see only once. Not like any of Clint Eastwoods other movies, either as director or actor, where the 25th viewing is as enjoyable as the first! This one hits you so deep in the gut(pardon the boxing pun) that once is definitely plenty. You will most likely never forget it. There have been only a few movies so sad and so heartfelt that the emotional chord it strikes leaves you in such a state you don't want to go there again. Kind of like a funeral for someone you loved. I sincerely admire Hillary Swank as an actress. Her 2 most amazing roles that both won her Oscars, have her dying in the end. She does it better than anyone. She has a humanity to her roles that reminds me of Audrey Hepburn at her best. The only other actress I know today that has this same quality is Natalie Portman. Watch her amazing performance at the age of 13 in The Professional. It is like she and Hillary are cast from the same amazing mold. MDB is a great movie. It may have an ending some may not agree is right, but it fits. It almost seemed like 2 different movies. A Rocky type of story at first, then a story about the issue of life. I highly suggest watching it once. That is all you will need.