Not Just Boxing

Rating: 9/10 (12 January 2006)

For those people who do not like boxing (such as me) take heart. It might not matter. In my opinion this movie transcends boxing, just as the movie Sea Biscuit was not just a horse race movie.
I have heard it said that when Clint Eastwood directs a film and is also a star in it, it will be a notch above most in seriousness and overall quality. Having added this one more Clint Eastwood picture to my viewing experience I have to agree. Clint Eastwood is definitely an interesting person. With no one to direct him but himself, he turns in a fabulous performance as an actor in this movie. Perhaps due to casting, perhaps due to Eastwood's direction and perhaps due to both, Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman also deliver acting performances that were among the best I have seen anywhere. With this realistic acting, serious direction, and an interesting story line, Million Dollar Baby is easily one of the most powerful movies I can recall seeing in recent years. Powerful is the correct word. With both exceptional and yet believable roles played by Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman, and Clint Eastwood himself, one can easily get lost into the movie themselves seeing it through one of their eyes, and thus almost become a part of the film itself.
I know that some will try to typecast this movie and pigeonhole it as a certain type. Some will call it a boxing movie. Some will say it is a pro euthanasia movie. Now, I also believe that I am a moral person. However, to typecast this movie as simply as either of those I believe is to be unfair to Eastwood. Eastwood does not take the subject of boxing too seriously, and yet he more than does enough to render the subject of life and death itself a most serious matter in this movie also. In fact, after watching this movie, one wonders if Clint Eastwood is capable of being "casual" about anything. Clint Eastwood is a serious director, a serious actor, and a serious man.
I highly recommend watching this movie. However I would also caution what I say is its most important point - that of being a powerful movie. By powerful movie you may, as I was, become drawn deep into the movie and the story. When that happens you might want to cheer at the times when it has good news, and be very sad during the movie sad parts. That is what I believe powerful means.
I recommend this movie and am personally looking forward to the next Clint Eastwood production.