At first I thought this was going to be another typical (of late at least) Clint Eastwood movie. You see, the only other Eastwood film I’ve seen is Gran Torino, and there’s no denying that his character in that movie is very similar to this one. Heck, even the plot had some striking similarities. Very quickly though I was drawn into his world, through the likes of Hilary Swank (admittedly NOT my favourite actress), Clint Eastwood, and Morgan Freeman.
This movie struck a chord with me right from the beginning. I’m one of those people that detests violence, hates boxing, and can’t even stand the sound of a punch being landed. But put me at a hockey game and I love to see a good fight, and if I’m being brutally honest, like most people, I look when I go by an accident scene. The story for me quickly became less about boxing, and more about a woman clinging to everything she had for one shot. It’d be easy to fall into the lull of this movie, a girl done good (against the odds) kind of story with a crotchety old man and his trusty sidekick thrown in for good measure, but it was more than that. It was a story of guilt, grief, rejection, and longing.
At the end of the day, don’t we all long for that thing that’s just beyond our reach. When it comes right down to it, we all want to say we tried; we had a goal; we gave it all we had. I’m less concerned about the details of my life than I am the sheer emotion of striving for something. I need that thing. Maybe others don’t, but a character that needed it so profoundly, almost desperately, spoke to me on a level I didn’t think I’d find in this film. I know I think differently, and I’m a tough critic, but if this movie didn’t move you in some way, my official diagnosis is that you’re dead inside!
