Fantastic movie.
Wow......
You know at the end of a great movie when the screen goes black just before the credits and the audience sits for several seconds in stunned silence? MDB did just that.
Clint Eastwood spent most of his movie career blasting punks with a .357. Not really all that challenging as far as acting goes. His performance in this movie will solidify his position as one of the all-time greats. Morgan Freeman and Hilary Swank are fucking nails.
My complaints are minimal. This may be as close to perfection as any movie I've ever seen. It's the first movie I've graded on Yahoo an A+ since The Two Towers.
This movie is a must-see.
...and when you go, take some Kleenex.
T1B Pithy Movie Review: Million Dollar Baby
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T1B Pithy Movie Review: Million Dollar Baby
It has served us well, this myth of Christ.
--Pope Leo X
--Pope Leo X
***
(mild spoiler)
NOTE:
Some of what I write below may give away more than you want to know about the movie. If you haven't seen it yet and want to, and want to be completely surprised when you do, you might want to stop reading now.
***
It was a decent movie. I would hardly call it flawless. The hype is WAY over the top... the only thing that deserves the attention it's getting is Swank's performance.
There are a lot of holes in the story... no good explanations for a lot of major plot points. The first half of the movie was quite enjoyable, though. The second half was very disappointing.
The absence of proper attention and medical care more strongly resembled a nursing home than a rehabilitation hospital. There were a lot of technical problems with the movie. Obviously, some of the deviations from reality were necessary in order to make the movie interesting. For my boyfriend (and thus in turn for me), those deviations were very distracting.
The 'decision' made at the end of the movie was immensely disappointing. Morgan Freeman's speech about how her life is complete because she 'had her shot' is actually lame. It showed a disappointing lack of dimension to a character who was written to appear deep. The ending sentiment is that paralyzing injury is a fate worse than death -- I'm sorry, I can't buy into it.
I'd rate this movie a C.
A- for acting... D for story.
(mild spoiler)
NOTE:
Some of what I write below may give away more than you want to know about the movie. If you haven't seen it yet and want to, and want to be completely surprised when you do, you might want to stop reading now.
***
It was a decent movie. I would hardly call it flawless. The hype is WAY over the top... the only thing that deserves the attention it's getting is Swank's performance.
There are a lot of holes in the story... no good explanations for a lot of major plot points. The first half of the movie was quite enjoyable, though. The second half was very disappointing.
The absence of proper attention and medical care more strongly resembled a nursing home than a rehabilitation hospital. There were a lot of technical problems with the movie. Obviously, some of the deviations from reality were necessary in order to make the movie interesting. For my boyfriend (and thus in turn for me), those deviations were very distracting.
The 'decision' made at the end of the movie was immensely disappointing. Morgan Freeman's speech about how her life is complete because she 'had her shot' is actually lame. It showed a disappointing lack of dimension to a character who was written to appear deep. The ending sentiment is that paralyzing injury is a fate worse than death -- I'm sorry, I can't buy into it.
I'd rate this movie a C.
A- for acting... D for story.
PP,
Thanks for the qualifying opinion regarding the ending of the movie. I think I might go see it now.
What kept me from seeing it so far is just an avoidance of the subject, and also a conversation I had a few months ago with my best friend who is a physician. Last year, she had a good friend whose 18 year old son was in a horrible auto accident. It looked really bad for awhile, and he was a great athlete and student and after the accident was just looking kind of like a veg for a few days. She went to counsel the family, but was (thankfully) not the family physician. Her opinion was to let the kid go...he was on a ventilator..just let him die. When I talked with her, I asked her why she had that opinion, and she said that he would never be the same as he was so they had to let him go. I asked...so why not see what he will be? Many folks have regained some form of good life from things like this. She said that wasn't an option...it wouldn't be good.
This surprised me about my friend. This is also why I will never be a patient of hers. The kid recovered almost 100%. His mental recovery is 100% and his physical recovery is almost that much, only less than that because his shoulder was so devastated that it is the thing that is less than what he had before. Last I heard, his parents are no longer on speaking terms with my friend who counseled them to let the kid die.
All real stories aside, it sounds like a good movie to see if you know what you are in for.
Thanks for the qualifying opinion regarding the ending of the movie. I think I might go see it now.
What kept me from seeing it so far is just an avoidance of the subject, and also a conversation I had a few months ago with my best friend who is a physician. Last year, she had a good friend whose 18 year old son was in a horrible auto accident. It looked really bad for awhile, and he was a great athlete and student and after the accident was just looking kind of like a veg for a few days. She went to counsel the family, but was (thankfully) not the family physician. Her opinion was to let the kid go...he was on a ventilator..just let him die. When I talked with her, I asked her why she had that opinion, and she said that he would never be the same as he was so they had to let him go. I asked...so why not see what he will be? Many folks have regained some form of good life from things like this. She said that wasn't an option...it wouldn't be good.
This surprised me about my friend. This is also why I will never be a patient of hers. The kid recovered almost 100%. His mental recovery is 100% and his physical recovery is almost that much, only less than that because his shoulder was so devastated that it is the thing that is less than what he had before. Last I heard, his parents are no longer on speaking terms with my friend who counseled them to let the kid die.
All real stories aside, it sounds like a good movie to see if you know what you are in for.