MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman

"Mo Cuishle"

 I'm not really into boxing. I believe it is a cruel sport and I wince every time a boxer punches, maybe I'm a tad bit sensitive. This movie though isn't only about boxing, it's about taking risks, having dreams and being passionate almost to the point of obsession over something. Hilary Swank deserves her best actress award, she portrays the determined boxer with such panache and character. She is ably supported by Clint Eastwood as the gym owner who is trying to reconnect with his daughter and Morgan Freeman as the former boxer who is the moral conscience of Frankie. This movie is effusively fluent and it just touches you in many ways. Towards the end, the sensitive issue of euthanasia is raised. Morally, we all know it is wrong yet somehow in such a case, it is justified. Morgan Freeman quoted earlier in the movie: "If there's magic in boxing, it's the magic of fighting battles beyond endurance, beyond cracked ribs, ruptured kidneys and detached retinas. It's the magic of risking everything for a dream that nobody sees but you." And Maggie "Mo Cuishle" Fitzgerald did it, she conquered her dream. A good inspirational movie with a lot of heart and soul.