Archive Analysis: "Million Dollar Baby" and "The Proposition"

Sorry about the absence: travel and computer problems have kept me away.

Zach's Favorite Movie: #23

Million Dollar Baby
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman
Rated: PG-13 for violence, some disturbing images, thematic material and language.

The cinematic brilliance of the movie was missed by so many who claimed the movie was about Euthanasia. While the film definitely deals with some difficult situations, the strong existential beliefs held by the characters are far more daring then their conclusions, and yet were never mentioned by the critics. At the least, Eastwood and Haggis have thought through their beliefs (unlike the more-so dangerous Cinderella Man or The Rookie) and they made a solid, emotional, character driven masterpiece along the way. I may not agree with the characters, but I definitely feel for them.

The Proposition
Directed by: John Hillcoat
Starring: Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, John Hurt
Rated: R for Strong Grisly Violence and for Language

A subtle, poetic outback-western that will make your stomach turn and heart race. The Proposition is as subtly beautiful as it is disgusting. Fueled by the icy glare of Guy Pearce (as well as an Oscar-worthy performance from John Hurt), Hillcoat seems to find his drama in the characters, and let them build the plot. Cinematographer Benoît Delhomme captures the rugged and the beauty with each shot, while editor Jon Gregory throws us into the scenes without the intros and exits of conventional storytelling, keeping us always interacting with the material. While The Proposition is too grisly to be considered a masterpiece, its too beautiful to be hated. Like it’s nihilistic message, it tries to find beauty in the present to wash away the sins of the past and future.