I saw this last night for the first time. The story took a turn that was totally unexpected. What I thought was going to be a typical yarn about a poor girl overcoming adversity to realise her dreams became an absorbing story with a twist that knocks the wind out of you and finishes with a tragic, melancholy ending. All the lead characters were superb and the film was deeply affecting.
It is a wonderful film that deserved its Oscars (won and nominated).
On a lighter note, Hilary Swank must have trained very hard for this film because her skipping technique was impressive!