Anish Misra Million Dollar baby is a film directed by Clint Eastwood. I wanted to watch the film but circumstances didn't allow me to do so. Finally, Last night I decided to watch it and was blown away.Plot: Follows Frankie Dunn, an old boxing trainer who decides to train an aspiring female boxer, a thing Frankie has never done in life. Story and direction: The film is just not about boxing (as I thought it would be). It is about the bonding and emotions formed between characters in the film. This is very well crafted by writer, Paul Haggis and director Eastwood. I was actually quite shocked of the themes the film dealt with. I was just fascinated by each and every scene of the film. The dialogue felt so real and struck a lightning bolt in my heart. I could relate to each and every scene in the film. The cinematography in the film is awesome. The boxing scenes were shot in a beautiful way. What added to the intensity of the boxing is the razor sharp editing. In addition to directing and producing the film, Eastwood also scores the film. Although the score is very minimal (which was apt considering the storyline the film was going for) and employs mostly pianos and guitars, it was very effective. My only flaw of the film was the sudden change of tone. It felt the first half was one film and second was another. If the flow would have been even, thw film would have been a notch higher.Performances: Clint Eastwood is a multi-talented personality. He acts perfectly. The grumpiness and mellowed version of his character was balanced perfectly by him. Hilary Swank was believable in every scene of the film. The hard work gone through by her is visible clearly. Morgan Freeman, who does serve as narrator too, does a wonderful job in supporting our main characters as well as guiding the audience through this emotional and soulful journey.Favorite Scene: It would be the scene where Maggie faces her first match with Sally as her manager and Frankie and Scrap watch from the other side of the hall. Frankie repeatedly tells Maggie to keep her left up. But when Frankie realises that Sally is making the match go his way for his own benefit; Frankie steps up to help Maggie. This scene showed the bond formed between Frankie and Maggie and how much Frankie cared for Maggie even if Frankie wants to hide it.Verdict: No wonder this film won big at the Academy Awards the subsequent year. Filled with earnest performances and a heart-filling emotional story and set-up, the film is definitely as must watch for those who feel that emotions surpass everything.I am going with a 9/10.

raymond-houser I don't tend to write reviews, and certainly not about something I feel so strongly about. I feel that my emotions prevent me from giving an unbiased review. But I wanted to make this exception because I've read too many reviews comparing this movie to Rocky. There's boxing in the movie, and that's where the similarities to Rocky ends. This movie is about the love of a father for his daughter. This movie is about living a life you can feel proud of. The boxing is incidental. If you are looking for a sports movie, move along. If you are looking for a deep, emotional roller coaster ride, this movie is for you.

john_siv Good boxing movie with some tremendous performances, but the moral message of this film was appalling. By the end of the picture euthanasia was essentially glorified and that is absolutely not okay in any movie. The production code back in the golden age of cinema was there for a reason; to make sure the right sort of stories were told and the right sort of messages sent. I can't say I find a 'mercy killing' particularly moving or heartbreaking - I find it a deplorable indictment of the morality of the world that such an ending can be gushed over.The scene where Maggie asked Frankie to put her out of her misery was moving and well done, couldn't the picture have just ended there? Seeing him actually do it was crass, unnecessary and left a bad taste in the mouth.

Vikas Gami Saw "Million Dollar Baby" n last night. Clint Eastwood, one of the all-time most famous actors -- and directors -- has more than enough money where he could choose to pull the strings on block buster, mindless action pictures, ala Jerry Bruckheimer, or comic books. This is a film totally dominated by Clint Eastwood. As an actor, he brings to the role total credibility as the tormented soul inside Frankie. Hilary Swank makes a brilliant Maggie, the ambitious girl that gets much more than what she bargained for. Ms. Swank has the best moment of her career after her work in "Boys Don't Cry". Working with the right elements, Ms. Swank is an actress that works with little gestures to achieve her input in the character she is playing.