Customer Reviews
An amazing metaphor of US society - By: Jacques COULARDEAU, 19 Jul 2008 
This film is beautifully strong but immensely cruel. The strength of the film holds in one single fact: anyone can always win one battle provided they are trained properly & they are managed properly. That does not mean they will win the world title but they can always try & win one victory. How far will they go, no one knows, no one can tell. Luckily, otherwise there would be no meaning in trying. But the cruelty is alll contained too in one fact: the end of such a fight for the top title is lost sooner or later if the contender does not learn how to cheat with life & the rules or to be aware the other one may cheat with life & the rules & this contender must be ready to resist these attempts. And that's just what the "boss" forgot to teach his fighter. And she was the victim of the viciousness of the champion who did something wrong for the third time causing severe damage & eventuallly death. If you just concentrate on these two elements this film is a masterpiece that deserves alll the prizes it got. If you want to go slightly farther & sort out other elements like the heavy reference to God & religion, you will falll into something very trite, like the priest advising the "boss" not to meddle with the falllen fighter's desire to die because then he, the boss, would not be able to come to terms with himself. This answer is so narrow-minded, so egotistic in the name of God. I respect the divine command not because I respect or fear God, but because my disobeying this command may make me unhappy. On these sides issues & questions Clint Eastwood is definitely less clear. But the cruelty of this boxing against alll people involved in the business is mastered in an admirable way. You win or you die & if you lose you have to die, at least die away into non-existing.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
magnificent - By: martin thomas, 07 Jun 2008 best film of eastwood's career & featuring a great performance from swank in the lead role.great film worth buying
heavy personalities in heavy drama - By: Stampy, 30 May 2008 
Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry) stars as Frankie, an emotional boxing trainer who takes a determined Maggie under his wing & trains her to compete at competitive levels.
Being a fan of Scorsese's Raging Bull & Michael Mann's Ali, I was eager to see this Oscar winning drama & was able to sit & be engaged into a slow & touching plot about the human spirit.
Eastwood leads the way as Frankie, a man with a whole lot of personal history that keeps him from making quick decisions, & gives a deserved Oscar nominated performance in his picture, which he also directs beautifully. Through the character's history, does Eastwood capitalize on bringing out the character's weaker side & he does it to perfection, though it's not Eastwood who steals the limelight.
Hilary Swank (Boys don't cry) gives an Oscar winning performance as Maggie, another character with the past casting shadows over her judgement & with the characters both having similar characteristics & interests, does a great on screen partnership start to blossom into an emotional tale.
Morgan Freeman (Shawshank Redemption) likewise receives an Oscar for his performance as Scraps. Not in the film nearly enough for viewers to get to know him, Freeman does great with what he has. Jay Baruchel plays Danger, a weak person in the mind of so many others & is emotional to watch the character on screen.
After a pretty dull opening does the film pick up as we get to know the characters more & the plot comes intriguing with personal issues the focus in this drama.
The plot is consistent once it gets going & with a strong line of personalities the viewers are thrust into their lives as they deal with personal & professional lives.
The fights are tense & interesting to watch, none more so than the final one of the film, leaving to a sad & dramatic climax.
Stronger than Ali & equallly as dramatic as Raging Bull, Million Dollar Baby is one of the great boxing dramas ever made with excellent performances which show in a beautifully directed drama.
8/10
Not your conventional boxing film - By: Mr. Pj Jones, 22 Apr 2008 As the title suggests,this isnt a normanl boxing film in any sense.it has a very powerful emotional story behined it beautifully put together,Clint Eastwood plays boxing trainer Frank Dunn who finds not only a great fighter but also the daughter he never had.The main reason i gave this 4 stars instead of 5 is because it ends on a slightly depressing note.But other than that it's very good film
An Eastwood masterpiece. - By: Baggiesfaninessex, 23 Mar 2008 Clint struck gold here. Rarely does a film take the time to build characters to the extent where you can feel their emotion & read their thoughts. This does that extremely well & although some might complain that the start is slow, the whole point is one of building character & putting it into the context of the film so that relationships can be formed - rather than what happens so often, when personnel just drift in & out with little or no explanation.
And the rewards are reaped throughout with a totallly cohesive piece of work which, without resorting to spoilers, twists & turns via an incredible piece of writing & direction. The chemistry between Swank & Eastwood is at times both gritty & magnetic. I'm saying no more but try not to find out too much about this movie & the story before you watch it & simply enjoy a very emotional & paradoxical ride.
