Manipulative, Illogical, bigoted

Rating: 4/10 (7 August 2005)

One of the most frustratingly disappointing movies I've seen in recent years, especially given the critical reviews, its academy award for best picture, and the quality cast.
On the plus side: it is a technically well-made film with good acting, as one would expect from the people involved. It also does a nice job (mostly in the first half of the film) of presenting the boxing gym as a microcosm in which a diverse group of people at very different points in their lives struggle with the demands of boxing for individual reasons. It's too bad this wasn't the main focus of the film.
On the negative side: (WARNING: spoilers ahead!) This is what is sometimes referred to as a "kill the kitten movie." It presents an innocent and almost too good to be true character that the audience will care about and root for (the kitten), and then has something terrible happen to that character (the kitten gets hit by a car). The audience is of course deeply moved by the tragedy, which creates the illusion of powerful drama when it is really just cheap, generic manipulation. In this case, the Hillary Swank character is a beautiful, plucky, brave, generous, determined young woman from an impoverished background who has not a single fault (even her teeth are movie star perfect despite her family genetics, poor upbringing and boxing career). So, the screen play has something really bad and really unfair happen to her to evoke "kill the kitten" emotions. Unfortunately, not only is the tragic turn in the movie manipulative, it's also highly illogical. While the incident occurs in a public sporting event significant enough to have a large audience and to be televised, and involves a felonious act by an at least marginally famous athlete, there is no media follow up to the event, and no holding the perpetrator legally or financially responsible for the consequences. Then, the seriously injured victim is sent to 2 different medical facilities in which she never receives any counseling for the psychological trauma she's going through, and is placed in a medically inappropriate bed (I know whereof I speak) that results in terrible and unnecessary pressure ulcers that add to her woes. Finally, to evoke even more visceral responses, the movie resorts to playing on what it apparently considers to be "acceptable" prejudices. The protagonist's family members are presented as disgusting and stereotypical examples of "white trash:" ignorant, lazy, selfish, irresponsible, dishonest, parasitical people with West Virginan accents. Personally, I found this depiction offensive and reprehensible. There's also the depiction of a completely ineffectual priest who shows us that religion is useless and irrelevant in times of tragedy and ethical dilemmas. This appears to be an implicit justification for the "shocking" ending which I found too contrived to be controversial.
Apparently, mine is a minority opinion, but I've met a number of other people who share it. Here's hoping for better movies.