Million Dollar Baby
There aren't many directors who can rightly claim more than one masterpiece on their CV (Hitchcock, Lean, Spielberg, Welles—to name a few). Who would've ever thought Clint Eastwood would join that group one day? Twelve years after finally establishing his place in the pantheon of great filmmakers with Unforgiven, Eastwood has delivered a very different kind of film wrought with the most authentic human drama to come out of American cinema in quite some time. He also gives the performance of his career while producing, directing, and writing the music for the film. All in a days' work. The other performances are extraordinary as well, from Swank's steely resolve to Freeman's uncomplaining empathy. Million Dollar Baby is a love story about a man harboring a lifetime of past sins and regrets for which he is unable to forgive himself, and a woman whose unyielding determination to overcome her station in life offers him a misleading shot at redemption. Misleading because Eastwood takes the film in a bold, unexpected direction that leads to his character's true redemption, one that could come at the price of his own soul. Films this good are a rare treat—savor it.