Movie Review: Million Dollar Baby

I hadn’t heard too much hype about Million Dollar Baby before Jenn and I saw it last night, but I had read Roger Ebert’s essay with full knowledge of the spoilers. I’m being completely honest when I tell you that knowing the outcome didn’t diminish my enjoyment of this excellent film one bit.

The joy and the anguish of this movie is the journey. We begin our story in media res and that’s how we leave things. No large fanfare, parade or soaring score, just people changed by the events of the film moving forward with their lives.

I won’t spoil anything for anyone, but if you think you know what this film is about you’re probably only half right. Like all great dramatic stories it involves love and loss, success and failure, and the intimate and unique bonds we all form in our lives. Brilliantly acted by Morgan Freeman, Clint Eastwood and Hilary Swank, this is a movie you must see.

Don’t go for the Oscar Buzz or the controversy, go because this film cares enough about it’s characters and it’s viewers to take things at the right pace and treat it’s subject matter with honesty. We should be so lucky that all films took this tact.

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