Respect

This voiceover was cool and carried a sense of sophistication.

In his seat, Quentin awkwardly shifted his body, contemplating whether he could do something similar in his future films.

With just a few sentences, an extraordinary atmosphere was created. Such interplay gave the movie an extra layer of ceremony.

Faintly, one could sense the irony directed at the audience members who believed they loved boxing, yet were merely using it as an outlet for their inner violent emotions.

Especially when one person was knocked down by another, amidst the bloody spectacle, the cheering and celebration from the crowd became all the more thought-provoking.

Lost in these thoughts, Quentin subconsciously glanced at his good friend Robert.

He then noticed that even Robert was attentively fixated on the big screen, displaying a genuine interest.

Interesting.

Lyman did have some depth to him.

A smile crept onto Quentin's lips, and his focus returned to the film.

The scene transitioned.

It led to a boxing gym.

The camera, from the main entrance, panned across the interior decorations from west to east, sweeping over the training area, the numerous students, and Morgan Freeman, playing Eddie, who was cleaning the floor with a mop.

Then, the camera continued moving.

Frankie Dunn, played by Clint Eastwood, arrived at the gym, greeted Eddie, and engaged in a brief conversation.

This narrative, in the third-person perspective, continued to drive the plot forward.

As Hilary Swank's character, Maggie, was rejected by Frankie when she asked for his training, each character made their entrance.

There was a seasoned boxing trainer who had managed the gym for over twenty years, a former boxer who had retired to become the janitor, and Eddie, a long-time friend of Frankie. There was also a black boxer Willie who entered the scene victorious, and Maggie, who inexplicably desired to become a female boxer.

After Eddie finished his daily cleaning, he informed Frankie that a new student had arrived at the gym.

Frankie took a look and saw that it was Maggie, the girl he had rejected earlier.

He was quite puzzled since he had never trained a girl before in all his years as a boxing coach.

However, Eddie mentioned that there was no reason not to accept her training fee.

Maggie continued to practice on her own in front of a punching bag.

To the trained eye, it was obvious that she had no professional experience. Her punches and footwork were all uncoordinated.

A week later, Maggie still came to the gym for training every day.

Frankie was utterly annoyed by her persistence.

Once again, he made it explicitly clear that he wouldn't train a female student.

But Maggie continued to ignore his refusal, focusing solely on her punching bag and jump rope. She always practiced until late, leaving only when the gym was about to close.

No one knew why she was so determined.

As the gym was about to close once more, the empty facility had lost the liveliness it had during the day.

Frankie and Eddie were busy packing up and preparing to close.

But not far away, under the bright fluorescent lights, a girl was still practicing in front of the punching bag.

She threw punches and kicks with utmost concentration, her sweat having soaked through her clothes.

Seeing Frankie about to turn off the lights, Maggie repeated her previous proposition.

"Thought you might be interested in training me."

Frankie shook his head, saying, "I don't train girls."

Receiving the same answer once again, Maggie fought back her disappointment with a smile. She casually accepted the white towel Eddie handed her, wiped her face, and then left the gym alone.

Frankie thought that this should make her give up.

Maggie left the gym and walked down the street into a neighborhood.

From the surrounding facilities, it was evident that this was not an affluent area.

Maggie lived here.

As usual, after exchanging greetings with her neighbor across the hall, she returned to her own home. Interestingly, the neighbor was played by Nicolas Cage, and his cameo role was that of an inconspicuous passerby.

Turning on the living room lights, Maggie went into the bathroom with a change of clothes.

After taking a shower, she changed into clean clothes and took out a few pieces of broken steaks from her backpack.

Morgan's voice resumed its cold narration.

It allowed the audience to gain some initial understanding of this determined female boxer.

"I used to box too. I see some of myself in her."

"It's the magic of risking everything for a dream that nobody sees but you."

"She's a pitiable child."

"At the age of twenty-seven or twenty-eight, unmarried and without a family of her own..."

Maggie was a girl who had come from a remote town and worked as a waitress in a restaurant.

She didn't have much money, and the rent for her apartment took up most of her income. To sustain her training, she often collected leftover food from others when cleaning up.

This was the reason her room was run-down and cramped, yet her dinner consisted of several pieces of steak. These steaks were what she had collected sneakily during her day job.

But there was no other way. Her physical training required her to do so; otherwise, her body would easily break down.

At this point, many people still couldn't understand her persistence.

Why choose boxing instead of finding a good man to marry or working hard? Why be so stubborn about this?

In truth, Maggie herself didn't know why she was so persistent. Perhaps she just wanted to bring some change to her otherwise unchanging life.

So she continued to train diligently every day, hoping to impress Frankie.

But Frankie's attitude remained resolute.

Only Eddie silently watched over her, giving her encouragement.

In his view, if there were any secrets in the world of boxing, it was the relentless struggle to surpass one's limits.

He admired Maggie and believed she was that kind of person.

In the movie, the story continued to unfold.

But Quentin was lost in thought.

Lyman's adept rhythm control, masterful handling of clues, and gradual character development and plot progression were always well-balanced, neither lacking excitement nor becoming overly explicit. It was surprising.

What was even more outstanding was Lyman's clear intention. During the narrative, he often used a small detail or two to enrich both the characters and the story.

For example, after Maggie's training, she wouldn't forget to practice her dodging steps on the road, even if she received strange looks from passersby. She remained undeterred. Another example was her unwavering passion despite the grueling training. From her emotions, it was evident that she loved boxing.

Even if Eddie simply corrected her punching posture, it would make Maggie smile with heartfelt gratitude.

To be honest, seeing such a determined and hardworking girl was very endearing.

A kind of unexplained contentment while watching, for a film of the same genre, was quite rare.

At this moment, Quentin suddenly had great admiration for Lyman.

For a director, there was nothing more convincing than the work itself.