| "She didn't ask God for help, she asked me." |
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| written by SBarnett |
November 2, 2006 - 1:21 PM PST |
| In a career noted for memorable lines, this one from "Million Dollar Baby" is Clint Eastwood's best. It sums up the foundation of the film: a passionate and clear-eyed search for the answer to the questions, What is our relation to God? What is our relation to each other? The answers we get at the end of the film show a truly optimistic, unbreakable humanism. The film combines the lyrical austerity and radiance of Yeats' poetry with the timing and rhythm of boxing to create rich atmosphere and engrossing drama. Ignore the opinions of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as irrelevant and watch Hilary Swank just take over every scene, listen to the perfect intonation in Morgan Freeman's voice, and feel Eastwood grow old in the space between frames. The only weakness in the film is the music, which at times overpowers or underwhelms. This outstanding film is another indication that Eastwood keeps getting better and better. |
| Wasn't worthy of the Oscar |
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| written by juliemiller1 |
October 2, 2005 - 10:29 AM PDT |
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4 out of 5 members found this review helpful
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| It was an okay movie, but definitely a run of the mill bad-guy-redeems-himself-by-opening-up-his-eyes-to new-opportunities. This is one of those movies that you see, and realize that you've seen previous reincarnations too many times over. The acting was good, but nothing special. And the plot had more than a few holes in it. |
| Would you believe $100,000? |
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| written by talltale |
July 5, 2005 - 9:27 AM PDT |
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8 out of 9 members found this review helpful
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My reaction to MILLION DOLLAR BABY no doubt stems from its receipt of this year's Academy Award for Best Picture. This was a shocking choice and one that may elicit hoots of derision from many viewers a decade or more down the road. The film is certainly not bad, but it is run-of-the-mill in many regards. From the insistent and overdrawn narration that Morgan Freeman must drone from beginning to end (with the usual nonsense, mixed with some intelligence, regarding boxing as a sport/art) to Eastwood's typical perception of human beings as either the good guys or the bad guys (the amazingly stupid and nasty family of the Swank character, who are, of course, welfare cheats, in addition to all their other disgusting qualities--talk about seeing the world in black and white!), the movie is ham-fisted at the very times that some subtlety would work wonders.
Logic is on vacation here, too. Would the boxer's family, so intent on getting a signature that gives them control over all the money, waste a week doing the Universal and Disneyland tours before even attempting to get that signature? Perhaps the worst offsense is the sentimentality that runs rampant. The "Danger" character, his "fight" and his eventual "return" should be enough to gag even the four-hankie crowd. I could go on.
The point is that way too many of our "better" critics seem unable to control a knee-jerk genuflection when it comes to old-timers like Eastwood and Scorsese. Both "The Aviator" and "Million Dollar Baby" are mediocre movies with some fine moments, decent acting and stories that maintain interest (in both cases, only up to a point). They offer no ideas to shake us or make us think. Compared to "The Motorcycle Diaries" or "The Sea Inside" (two out of many better films from 2004), they are shallow indeed. That's mainstream American moviemaking, post-turn of the century. (Or more likely, post-the origin of Hollywood. But, as old as I am, I'm still too young to know for sure.) |
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