The Best Picture of 2004 is…..”Million Dollar Baby.” Producer-director Clint Eastwood (“Play Misty for Me” 1971) won the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director (his second double win since “Unforgiven” 1992) and also ran into controversy due to the double nature of the film. The first part of “Million Dollar Baby” is a Cinderella story where Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) rises from nothing to become one of the world’s top women boxers, largely help by Eastwood’s character Frankie Dunn’s training. This part is inspirational and fun.
In the second half, Fitzgerald suffers a devastating accident in the ring at the hands of a mean opponent. She is then paralyzed from the neck down, facing one setback after another. Dunn goes from coach and mentor to Dr. Kevorkian in short order. This shocking twist in the plot is not only disconcerting to many audience members, but also seems to be a blatant advertisement for the right to die movement.
However, the film is technically sound with good production values. The screenplay by Paul Haggis is well written. It earned four Oscars, two for Eastwood, one for Hilary Swank (Best Actress), and one for Morgan Freeman (Best Supporting Actor). There were three other nominations, one for Best Actor (Eastwood), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. The musical score composed by Clint Eastwood was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media and for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.
The supporting cast includes Jay Baruchel, Mike Colter, Anthony Mackie, Margo Martindale, Michael Pena, Benito Martinez, Lucia Rijker, Brian F. O’Byrne, Riki Lindhome, Bruce MacVittie, and Grant L. Roberts. “Million Dollar Baby” was successful at the box office for Malpaso Productions, Lakeshore Entertainment, Ruddy Morgan, and Warner Bros. Pictures.
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
cinema
My Review
The Best Picture of 2004 is…..”Million Dollar Baby.” Producer-director Clint Eastwood (“Play Misty for Me” 1971) won the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director (his second double win since “Unforgiven” 1992) and also ran into controversy due to the double nature of the film. The first part of “Million Dollar Baby” is a Cinderella story where Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) rises from nothing to become one of the world’s top women boxers, largely help by Eastwood’s character Frankie Dunn’s training. This part is inspirational and fun.
In the second half, Fitzgerald suffers a devastating accident in the ring at the hands of a mean opponent. She is then paralyzed from the neck down, facing one setback after another. Dunn goes from coach and mentor to Dr. Kevorkian in short order. This shocking twist in the plot is not only disconcerting to many audience members, but also seems to be a blatant advertisement for the right to die movement.
However, the film is technically sound with good production values. The screenplay by Paul Haggis is well written. It earned four Oscars, two for Eastwood, one for Hilary Swank (Best Actress), and one for Morgan Freeman (Best Supporting Actor). There were three other nominations, one for Best Actor (Eastwood), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. The musical score composed by Clint Eastwood was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media and for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.
The supporting cast includes Jay Baruchel, Mike Colter, Anthony Mackie, Margo Martindale, Michael Pena, Benito Martinez, Lucia Rijker, Brian F. O’Byrne, Riki Lindhome, Bruce MacVittie, and Grant L. Roberts. “Million Dollar Baby” was successful at the box office for Malpaso Productions, Lakeshore Entertainment, Ruddy Morgan, and Warner Bros. Pictures.