best of the year - Some MINOR spoilers

Rating: 10/10 (26 December 2004)

I went to see the movie knowing very little about it. I love Clint as a director, think Swank is a great actress (based on 1 movie) and like Morgan Freeman a lot. I knew it's about boxing and I expected a "making of a winner" story. I've had a long day and wanted something escapist. Well, it is not. If you are looking for a light movie, don't go to Million Dollar Baby that day. But do not miss it. The movie was not at all what I had expected. But it was far beyond. It kept me thinking for many many hours. The movie made me laugh at many points, with its clever lines. The dialogue is phenomenal. Every word, every line. It is never too sentimental as it might have been.
Swank is amazing. She undergoes many transformations in the movie, and remains very true to her character. I didn't find her physique very believable for a boxer, but I forgive them for this detail. Since everything else is so perfect.
I didn't think Clint was excellent in his role. He was good, as always, but overshadowed by the other two.
The woman sitting next to me in the theatre hid her face almost all of the first half of the movie (in the boxing scenes), and didn't stop crying the other half.
I didn't cry. And still I feel it's one of the strongest movies I have seen in a very long time. It is made with such intelligence that it may evoke any emotion. It's so personal.
That's it. I cannot talk more about the movie without giving away some of its plot, which I don't want to. I was so happy not to have known anything, not to have seen a trailer.
Go, watch this movie. And hope that Eastood makes another great movie next year. Oh, yes, and that he wins all the awards this year.