Bit late to all this but I thought Million Dollar Baby was a brilliant movie. It was so emotionally overwhelming without even seeming to try very hard (for instance that music score was deeply affecting and it's only a couple of notes!) and the story was superbly constructed. I saw it in a cinema that was about half full and I don't think I'll ever forget the moment of recognition that people all around - to the left of me, the right, in front, behind - they were all crying. And a harrowing third act culminating in one of the most memorable closing shots I've ever seen. That last shot made my heart ache, so simple yet so devastating in impact. The three main peformances - Frankie, Maggie and Scrap -were flawless and Eastwood in particular, wow, just .. wow. That scene late in the movie between him and the priest was heartbreaking.

Haggis wrote a great script that fools you so well into believing it's going to be one kind of story and then just completely pulls the rug out from under you. It's the kind of surprise you yearn for as a cinemagoer but so rarely get these days and what's so amazing about it is that all the third act elements are seeded in the first two. Scrap's casual mention early on that a boxer's punch carries enough force to snap a neck, Maggie's line about how her mother always said that she fought her way into the world and that she'll fight her way out of it, the repeated shots of Clint placing the stool in the ring, the whole Mo Chuisle business, the revelation that Scrap's voiceover was actually much more than just the last refuge of a lazy screenwriter (so obvious when you think about it but then isn't it always, after the fact) and much, much more.

One other point; the restraint of the movie in so many different ways was sheer pleasure to watch after films that try to bludgeon you into submission with heavy handed direction, overpowering production values and bloated runtimes. I thought it was wonderful that they didn't try to explain Clint's estrangement from his daughter or waste time trying to PC-ise Maggie's pond life family. Total classical Hollywood filmmaking at its finest, stripped down to the essentials and not a single wasted frame or self-indulgent moment. Not to take anything away from his other movies but I really think Million Dollar baby is Clint's greatest achievement as director and actor ... or at least until Flags of Our Fathers.

Welcome Limey. : )

Judging by the last page of this thread, MDB might be our highest graded film. A after A after A+ after A+.

I'd give it an A-. Sideways deserved the Oscar more, but it was a good movie.

Yeah, I'd actually agree with you on that. Sideways was one of the most engaging and heartwarming comedies I think I've ever seen.

Along with Sideways this is the most overrated movie 04.

Hi Limey, welcome to the board! Hope you'll find it fun here and stay.

Thanks! Nice to be here.

I take back my earlier comment on second-viewing. Easily the most deserving film for the Best Picture Oscar of 2004 and still my #3 all-time favorite film.

It's just that good. The storytelling is simply put amazing. The direction is flawless. Everything about it is just utterly compelling.

I probably stand alone, but somehow this film impacted me in a way only a few films have managed to thus far. It also holds up amazingly well on second-viewing, something few films can do.

The more I watch it, the more I dislike. The actors are great, but there are writing is pretty bad. I don't really care for anyone beyond Swank's character. The only memorable scenes are the ones with Eastwood and Swank simply boxing. Practicing. It's a nice, nostalgic film, but isn't particularly revolutionary or exceptional.

B.

A-


I thought I'd give this one a more elaborated review. The more I think back, the less I think did this movie deserve the Best Picture Oscar. It was good, really good, but just...just not Best Picture-worthy to me. Especially considering that I thought Mystic River was a somewhat better movie than this.

This one is all about performances and those are great. Hilary Swank delivers on all levels and got her deserved accolades. I would say that Kate Winslet was slightly better than her, but I am fine with her win. Clint Eastwood delivered an excellent performance, maybe even his career-best. It was quiet, subtle and yet, very touching. It was Morgan Freeman who disappointed me. I have come to realize that he pretty much plays the same role over and over in almost each movie he is in. He does it well, yeah, but the role still remains the same. Clive Owen and Thomas Haden Church were far more deserving Best Supporting Actor contenders.

The movie itself is good. What I really like about it is how it starts out as a typical underdog story and when you think you know where it is going to end, it completely changes its course. It is daring, no question about that and it manages to emotionally connect with the viewer. The scenes between Eastwood and Swank towards the end of the film are heartbreaking, especially the moment when he lets go of her.

What I didn't like were, for instance, the inclusion of that stupid, retarded kid trying to become a boxer. He didn't do anything to me. Moreover, I always felt like there was something lacking to that storyline of Eastwood and his daughter. It reminded me a lot of Mystic River's unnecessary subplot of Kevin Bacon and his wife.

I recently watched M$B again, thinking I missed something the first time I saw it in the theater. I didn't like it then, and I actually liked it less the 2nd time through. The movie has me at the beginning, but completely loses me in the end when it turns into an absolutely moronic soap opera.

If only it had stayed along the initial path - a female version of Rocky, I would have been much happier. Very disappointing flick, and hands down the worst Oscar winning film within the last 10 years (or more).

D+

I agree 100%!

Anyone who is bothered by Crash winning this year - multiply it by 1,000 and you'll have an idea of how I felt last year...

An Amazing film, but I think The Aviator should have won best pic in 04

A-

Well, the first thing I'd like to point out is that I'd forgotton Paul Haggis had written the screenplay before watching this. It took about 5 minutes into the movie before his awful, misdirected dialogue reminded me.
But besides Haggis' blow, this is a very strong movie.
Didn't deserve Best Picture over Sideways, Actress over Imelda Staunton, or Supporting Actor over...well, I'm not sure what was up, but this sure as hell seemed like more of a career achievement award for Freeman, but I can't say all of those aspects weren't very good in their own rights.
Overall: a wonderfully small, personal ensemble, nice, quiet direction and a cliched yet ultimately successful storyline. It really only fails with Haggis, who, for example, writes Maggie's (Swank) family in the same unsubtle way he wrote Crash. Ugh. Haggis prevents it from being great, but even if their had been a better screenwriter, I don't think this would be a masterpiece for me. It's very, very good, and that's all.
A-

agree with everything said.

One of the best scenes in this picture (which I imagine was improvised) was when Maggie's white trash mother silenced her unwed daughter's crying kid with one authoritative snap of the fingers.

No.

You suck at life.

The first half was fantastic but I didn't like the second half at all. I saw it in theaters but I think I'd like it more if I saw it now.


B-

Somehow I just ended up watching this movie a few days ago. I knew it won a bunch of Oscars and a lot of people told me they liked it when it came out, but I never got around to seeing it. All I knew is that it dealt with a female boxer. Before watching I thought that it was perhaps based on a true story (haha!). I also hadn't the foggiest idea about the last 3rd of the movie.

That said, I really liked the movie. Some things that stood out to me:

- Clint's conversations with the priest; his dedication of going to church each mass and his questions/arguments with the priest were great.
- Swank's body. Holy cow did she get into some good shape for the movie and looked excellent!
- Freeman's performance. Very well done.
- The pace of the movie was great. Though the friend that watched it with me said that he thought it was slow, I thought it was very apt for the story.
- the boxing fights.
- the story

Some things that I didn't like:

- The dirty boxer. Really, a title contender doing all of that and there are no repercussions? The referee in the fight seemed to oblivious to the dirty tricks (yea it's a movie and it needed it to be such to introduce the 3rd act, but still.)
- Swank's family. As was mentioned before too easy to dislike.

Overall it was a very good film. A/A-

This is the only BP winner of the last ten years that I have yet to see. And I have no real desire to, either.

It's very good, Daniel-san.

Wait....Yoshue likes a movie? Alert the press!

It has kind of become a love/hate movie since its Best Picture win, and you can count me in the former camp. The cast is excellent, with Swank, Eastwood, and Freeman all doing very good work (and as much as I loved Winslet in Eternal Sunshine, I've got to say that Swank deserved the Oscar she walked away with), and an effectively emotional story. Some may think the big plot twist is too manipulative, but it hit right on the money with me. It's deserving of its praise, and one of the best movies I have seen in this decade.

A

Brilliance.

A+