What a movie!

Rating: Null/10 (8 February 2005)

I have always been a big fan of Clint Eastwood, both as an actor and a director. He is so modest and low key that people don't realize he directs the majority of his own films. I hope he retires because this is a wonderful swan song to a brilliant career. I felt like crying at the end of the film. Eastwood will be 75 in May and he looks every year of it, Morgan Freeman also looks terrible, but that suits them perfectly in the roles they are playing. In 1992, Eastwood and Freeman made movie magic in Unforgiven and lightning DOES strike twice in the same place here. Hillary Swank gives a knockout (no pun intended) performance as a woman who has nothing but a dream. Her youthful enthusiasm mixes perfectly with her trainers weary cynicism. Boxing is a seamy and brutal sport that this film captures perfectly, all the pain, hurt and dreams that never came true. The boxing scenes are a delight to watch. You have to wonder how many hours Swank actually trained to get all the moves down. It sort of reminded me of Rocky. However, in these movie fight scenes they throw more punches then in dozens of real fights! A boxer would be dead! SPOILER ALERT, SPOILER ALERT. Swank finally became champ in the end, only to have everything taken from her in the cruelest manner imaginable and forcing her trainer to make an unspeakable decision. Forget about the debate on mercy killing, it is just heart breaking to watch because Swank and Eastwood's characters were really like father and daughter in the end. Its all the more moving when it shows his wretched relationship with his own daughter and Swank's money grubbing, ungrateful white-trash family (I was hoping Clint would punch out that punk brother of hers). I think the movie would have been better off if Swank had just won the title and there had been a traditional "happy" ending. By the way, this is the only film where I have seen Eastwood weep on screen. He does it at the end when he unplugs her life support and gives her the injection. It is just gut wrenching. You just hope that Swank's character is wearing the crown of everlasting life instead of the championship belt.