In the wake of a painful estrangement from his daughter, boxing trainer Frankie Dunn has been unwilling to let himself get close to anyone for a very long time--then Maggie Fitzgerald walks into his gym. In a life of constant struggle, Maggie's gotten herself this far on raw talent, unshakable focus and a tremendous force of will. But more than anything, she wants someone to believe in her. The last thing Frankie needs is that kind of responsibility-- let alone that kind of risk--but won over by Maggie's sheer determination, he begrudgingly agrees to take her on. In turns exasperating and inspiring each other, the two come to discover that they share a common spirit that transcends the pain and loss of their pasts, and they find in each other a sense of family they lost long ago. Yet, they both face a battle that will demand more heart and courage than any they've ever known.

Million Dollar Baby could almost be seen as a three act play, the first act we meet our characters and set up the story, the second act is the action of the play and we end the third act with the emotion that will fill us up and make the movie oh so memorable. The movie is almost perfect that it is sad to see it lose its way a little during the second act, the movie loses a little of its purpose and the characters fall into stereotypes and clichés only to be redeemed in the final act. The third act is so touching and moving it was hard to not cry, the characters evolve so much in that time that you can’t help but feel for their plights. I can’t really give away any more information without ruining the film, which would be such a shame, as everyone should see the movie at least once.

Clint Eastwood has shown that his greatest talents might be his directing he just seems to have a knack for story telling that is almost amazing. His movies are rich and full of vibrate characters that just move you and make you feel for them. Million Dollar might be his best movie ever, richer and more real than Mystic River and more down to earth and heartwarming than Unforgiven. But its Hilary Swank that steals the movie she just takes over whenever she is on the screen. Even when the movie lost its way a little in the middle it was the vibrancy of Swank who brought so much life to her character that you still found yourself rooting for her no matter what, she always liked to knock her opponents down in the first round as the movie would have said. You cheer for her, you root for her and you cry for her. A must see.
4 stars out of 5