This weekend we finally got to see Million Dollar Baby starring Clint Eastwood, Hillary Swank (winner of best actress), and Morgan Freeman (winner of best supporting actor). IT WAS AMAZING.

This is one of those films that really sticks with you long after you see it. It reminded me a lot of The Shawshank Redemption (another of my all-time favorite movies). It's similar in feel mainly due to Morgan Freeman's narration during most of the film and just the general type of movie (an outstanding drama).

I really didn't know what it was about other than female boxing, and boy is that NOT what it's about. Warning, if you don't know what it's about don't keep reading, I don't want to spoil it for you...

Yes, it's about boxing, but it's really about Hillary Swank's character breaking free of her past, breaking away from her terrible mother and family (expertly played by Margo Martindale). She connects with Eastwood and finally talks him into training her. They form a very tight bond as he takes her through the boxing ranks.

So you know that Hillary Swank is going to be good. She won best actress right? You don't realize how good she is until you see the movie. The training she did for the film must have been amazingly hard as she is totally convincing as a boxer (and man is she huge!). But when you finally find out what the film is really about, you really get why she won. In what becomes her last fight her neck is broken after a sucker punch after the bell. This leads to the second half of the movie, dealing with the aftermath and her complete and total paralysis.

Once she realizes there is no going back, no way to repair the damage done she decides she wants to die. Here in lies the controversy. Should someone in that position be allowed to decide when they die? I'm not about to try to answer that (if you know me you probably know what I think). It's a hugely polarizing issue and I don't want to start a flame war. Needless to say the way Eastwood deals with it is very powerful.

In short this is one of the best films I've ever seen. Ever. I'd easily put it in my top 25 movies of all time list, if you haven't seen it yet RENT IT. You'll love it!