Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Best Picture, 2005 ceremony. Hilary Swank's determination and the dry exchanges in the boxing gym make the surrogate-family bond convincing. A return also means anticipating the severe final stretch, which can turn earlier moments of ordinary companionship into preparation for suffering. That emotional cost matters when choosing a film again. The simplified hostility of Maggie's relatives compounds my resistance: the film's hardest argument deserves more complicated opposition.