So far, with only Sideways to watch, this is my pick of the Best Picture nominees to win. Indeed, to me, it feels like the kind of movie, like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and The Silence of the Lambs before it, that should win the Big Five (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay). It’s just that exact type of solidly built, perfectly executed pieces of film that deserves that kind of recognition… and they already owe Eastwood for Mystic River.

Personally, I don’t imagine I’ll be watching it again as readily as Clint Eastwood’s last movie; and though I was pretty moved by Million Dollar Baby, it was nowhere close to the level that the other movie got to me.

I didn’t see “the twist” coming (not that it’s really a twist). I’ve tried not to read any other reviews of the story, and I’d come to the assumption that maybe the title had something to do with Swank becoming pregnant and having to choose between her boxing title and child (not a bad story in itself, I reckon… hmm, maybe I should’ve kept that to myself…). The second half of the movie is played with stunning tenderness and attention to detail, with scene after arresting scene, and Swank is heartbreaking. (there… I didn’t issue spoilers there did I?)

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