Million Dollar Baby Review

I wanted to start my first blog with a movie that I had grown up watching and admiring. I recently watched the film again and fell even more in love with it because of the strategic and beautifully crafted cinematography elements. My first film that I will be reviewing is Million Dollar Baby directed by Clint Eastwood. I don't even know where to start; this movie is just WOW! For those who have not seen the film, the movie focuses on a young woman's struggle to become a professional boxer with the hesitant help of a mentor, coach, and fatherly figure(Clint Eastwood). It's like most boxing/ underdog stories, but with a more personal and sentimental grasp on the relationship shared between not only the characters but also the audience as well. Don't worry no spoilers, I promise. The writing done within this story goes above and beyond and is very well thought out. The writers did a great job alluding to the film's dramatic tone, while also throwing quick witty jokes and happy scenes in order to counter act the dramatic qualities seen throughout the film. The movie also contained beautifully lightened scenes, especially in the boxing gym scenes. They kept the dingy and dark natural lighting of the gym to allude to the dramatic events that happen within the movie and the sport of boxing itself. During the training scenes they keep low key lighting, but when the characters are placed in the fighting matches they purposely use high key lighting. The low key lighting alludes to the hard work and the tough training and discipline taken by the main character Maggie (Hilary Swank). The high key lighting during the actual matches is used to give a positive mood of her winning most of the fights.They also use high key lighting in other happy or more upbeat scenes and repeat the low key lighting within the dark or often sad scenes in order to keep the tone that Clint Eastwood, as a director, wants the film to convey. This type of lighting technique is used in almost all films.  Another key factor that caught my attention in this film was the diegetic sound of boxing purposefully made more dramatized in order to catch the attention of the audience. The sounds were rhythmical  and almost used in place of music. This also helps allude to the beauty and the precise nature found in the sport of boxing. The actors that play in this movie are phenomenal actors that bring lots of talent to the movie. Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman, and Jay Baruchel are just a small amount of talented actors featured in this film. They all play their roles confidently, without over doing or out shining one another. Their acting compliments one another allowing the film to have a greater appeal to the audience watching the film. I personally connected to this film because I am a sucker for any movie that has a strong fatherly and child relationship found within the story line. The main coach, Frankie, reminded me a lot of my own father which allowed me to get even more invested into the story than I would have liked to. The classic macho man with tough exterior, but secretly a man with a big heart is my favorite male archetype found within movies. Clint Eastwood is a perfect actor for this role truly. Overall this film showed that it is a great work of art that incorporates lots of thought out literary and cinematic elements. In my top ten favorite films of all times! Ten out of ten would recommend this film to anyone who is interested. The best news is that you can find it on Netflix!