Eastwood hits the nail on the head again

Rating: Null/10 (19 February 2005)

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs
Hard-faced,hard-bitten boxing trainer Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) is a man battling his own inner-demons and is not at a time in his life where he wants to go against the routine that he has settled into.So when trailer-trash waitress Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) wonders into his gym one day,eager to become a female boxer (which Frank has never trained before!) he is understandably disconcerted.However,with some gentle persuasion from his only true friend and former boxing champion Eddie 'Scrap-Iron' Dupris (Morgan Freeman) and Maggie's consistent determination,he gradually becomes less stuck-in-his-ways and heralds Maggie to championship level,and to the triumpths and tragedies that follow...
As is noted in the trivia section,this is no less than Clint's 25th film as director,his 57th film as an actor and his 21st film as a producer.There can be no question that this is a man truly deserving of his lifetime achievement award.It is truly remarkable that,even at the age of 74,Clint's name can still garner a cinema release (even a limited one,as in the case of films like Blood Work and True Crime) as opposed to having slipped into a life of DTV mediocrity.Yet it is also his style that keeps his films distinguished and apart from any other films of this day.In other words,you know an Eastwood film when you see one.This,like a fair few of his previous efforts,is a mature,slow,considerate film that the 2-Fast-2-Furious generation are unlikely to have the patience and attention span to sit through.As a previous reviewer noted,Clint refuses to 'dumb-his-films-down' and cut corners in any way...
While you have to admire his longitivity,the fact remains that Eastwood has never been a great emotional actor.There's a scene near the end where he appears to be trying to cry that comes off as terribly unconvincing.Yet he's as great as the grizzled,hard-faced tough guy act as he's ever been,and,even at 74,there were certain scenes where his physical appearance really scared me and made me think I still wouldn't want to mess with him in real life.I suppose the same could be said of his co-star Freeman,but,like Eastwood,he does his thing and provides an engaging narrative voice-over throughout the film.Yet the real star of the show and the deserved Oscar winner is Swank,very good as the feisty,determined,give-it-all-she's-got-girl knowing she can't fail or else succumb to a life of further mediocrity.
What will further distance the film from a large proportion of the modern day audience is it's heavy,hard-hitting (forgive the pun!) scenes.It's got a 12A certificate,yet it's doubtful a lot of people that age will have the maturity,or,ridiculous as it seems,even mental responsibility to handle it.It's a gentle,easy-flowing film that shows Eastwood's maturity as a film-maker and star and,in this day and age,is distinctly,discernably Eastwood.*****