Every Best Picture Oscar Movie Winner Of 21st Century Ranked Worst To Best
7. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Should have won!
The centrepiece of Million Dollar Baby is the three performances that give it life. The story of an aspiring boxer taken in by an emotionally closed-off trainer and his closest confidant, it finds Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, and Morgan Freeman at the absolute peak of their powers.
Directed by Eastwood, the drama is a humanist tale of redemption and perseverance, acceptance and missed opportunities, following Swank's eager fighter as she scales Eastwood's grumpy defences, and Freeman as he watches in pain as the pair save and then inadvertently destroy each other.
On paper, you've seen it all before - gruff veteran trainer takes on young fighter who changes his worldview - but Million Dollar Baby is host to a variety of surprises, from the spare and beautiful way it explores each character's pasts through setting and dialogue, to the way its final act shifts it from underdog story to heartbreaking tragedy.
Earning its tears, Eastwood's late-career gem is one of the Academy's most devastating Best Picture winners, wrapping you in a warm hug before it finally breaks your heart.