The tale itself is pretty simple, but a well-written script and a group of incredibly gifted actors move this from what could have been melodrama to something special.While it looks initially like a "boxing movie," it obviously becomes more than that. You've got 3 characters, each with their own somewhat tortured past, all searching for something. The magic of this film comes when they join forces, so to speak, to try to attain a shared goal.Hilary Swank is more than deserving of the Oscar she won for her role, as is Morgan Freeman, and Clint Eastwood could have easily taken that honor, too. The interplay between Eastwood and Freeman is so natural that it hardly feels like acting, and the same goes for his scenes with Hilary Swank.Fantastic film, one that everyone should see.