We all know girls can fight, but Million Dollar Baby gives the one-two punch into that subject.

Rating: 9/10 (23 April 2006)

One of the best films of recent years, Million Dollar Baby tells a simple story so heartbreaking and inspirational at the same time. Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) who trains boxers has been through tough times in his life and it has influenced him to become the man he is  rough, frustrated, and broken. One day he meets Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), a determined woman in her thirties who wants to make herself a boxer and wants Frankie to train her. At first, Frankie is reluctant to train a girl, but when his old friend Eddie (Morgan Freeman) encourages Frankie to take on Maggie and train her, the two form an inevitable bond and a wonderful friendship.
The best thing about Million Dollar Baby is that it is simply told. Paul Haggis (by recent Crash fame) does a good job with the screenplay without making it sound too phony at times. The dialogue seemed real even with its solid simplicity. The characters are very well developed and I think one of the best things you can do to a character in film is to make the audience feel sympathy for him/her. In this case, the three characters of this film are introduced then we learn a little about them. Maggie is a local waitress who takes home customer leftovers and chew on them as dinner like a dog. Her family doesn't appreciate anything she does Frankie, who attends church for the past few decades goes there and doesn't really know what draws him there. Eddie, an ex-boxer, is blind in one eye and cleans the gym daily and reads newspapers frequently. We feel some sympathy for these characters and that is what makes the film work.
The performances are brilliant. Hilary Swank is amazing here. We see her eyes look at Frankie like a child as she eagerly learns how to box. In the boxing ring, her eyes are shining with determination and great strength, knowing that she has got her chance. Clint Eastwood (who also directed the film) is also good here too, making his character like some tough-guy but hey  we know the guy's got a soft-side too. Morgan Freeman is great, filling in his classic "supporting role" style.
The flaw of Million Dollar Baby comes in the last 40 minutes or so. The last 40 minutes seem to go by too slowly. Even though the heartbreaking ending was bound to come, I thought the emotional development in those last scenes seemed slow and sometimes bland. It shows again what we already know and already saw. It was pretty much for me, "Been there, done that." The last few seconds were quite powerful, but what came before that was too slow for me to handle.