Who
would have thought that a movie about boxing starring
Clint Eastwood would be the most powerful, dramatic and
emotional film produced in years. Eastwood follows up
last year's compelling Mystic River with a film that is
even more haunting and emotionally draining. Million
Dollar Baby, just as with Mystic River, leaves the
audience stunned with it's final act and will have most
viewers reflecting on the story that they have just
witnessed. Mystic River was easily in my list of the top
ten films of last year and Million Dollar Baby will
easily top my list of my favorite films for 2004.
The story unfolds as Maggie (played magnificently
by Hiliary Swank) arrives at a gym run by Frankie (Clint
Eastwood) who is assisted by his long friend Eddie
(Morgan Freeman). Frankie is in the process of training
his best fighter for a title fight when Maggie shows up
and wants Frankie to train her. She tells Frankie that
he should take a shot at training her because people
tell her that she is very tough. But Frankie wants
nothing to do with training a girl and as he tells her
"girlie, tough ain't enough". However, complications
arise with his relationship with his best boxer so
Frankie reluctantly agrees to train Maggie. Eddie's
persistent persuasion also has a part in having Frankie
change his mind.
Frankie eventually lines up some boxing matches
for Maggie who turns out to be a quick learner and a
gutsy boxer. She progresses quickly and amazes Frankie
on how quickly she usually knocks out her more seasoned
opponents. As the story unfolds, we find out that
Frankie has not seen his daughter for many years and
that Maggie's father had died some years back. Thus,
their relationship develops into more than just trainer
and boxer. At this point in the story plotline, I will
stop as not to give away any of the gut wrenching and
emotional final act.
With this movie, I must talk first about the
acting performances. Clint Eastwood puts in what is
probably his finest dramatic performance ever from over
an acting career spanning fifty years or so. Who would
have thought that an actor who once drove around with an
orangutan in a movie could give this kind of
performance. What can I say about Morgan Freeman.... he
just puts in just another one of his always super
performances. His performance is so relaxed and real
that he never appears to be really acting. And like with
Unforgiven, Eastwood and Freeman make a great pair as if
they have been best friends for decades. Now for Hiliary
Swank. As good as Eastwood and Freeman are in this
movie, Swank's performance is what really help make this
movie so unforgettable. She isn't just totally
believable as a boxer, but comes across as such a real
and down-to-earth person that one can't help but pull
for her all the way.
One of the most impressive aspects of Millions
Dollar Baby is the way director Eastwood never rushes
the story and packs so much into two plus hours. The
story is never rushed and Eastwood lets the story unfold
at a leisurely pace so that we can learn much more about
these three characters who are all missing something in
their lives. Kudos have to be given to writer Paul
Haggis with the marvelous script that he turned out.
Million Dollar Baby is such a rich and challenging
motion picture and it is a must-see for all movie-going
fans. This film will touch your heart and haunt you at
the same time but is free of the usual Hollywood
melodrama manipulation that you would usually find with
a film like this. As Frankie might say "girlie, this is
no Rocky movie". There's no doubt in my mind that this
film should win the Best Picture Oscar for the 2004
films and it would be a travesty if it's story and
performances are passed over. Run, don't walk, to your
nearest theatre when this film comes your way.
--
Mike (
4 out of 4 pops )
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Other Junkie's
opinions.....
Billy Ray ( 4 out of 4 pops )
Somewhere between nowhere and goodbye lies a miraculous little film
called "Million Dollar Baby". Over the past fifty years or so, we have
seen just about every kind of boxing movie imaginable. "The Great White
Hope" was a boxing movie that dealt with both a struggling underdog and
the throws of racism. "Rocky" taught us all about guts and faith and
made us all want to go out and find an Apollo Creed of our own to fight.
"Raging Bull" connected violence with boxing in a way that had yet to
be see in film. Since then, we really haven't had a really great boxing
movie. And, we still don't. As one critic has already pointed
out, "Million Dollar Baby" is not a boxing movie, but a movie about a
boxer. Never have any words been more true. This film is all heart,
all soul, and all Clint Eastwood. It takes the viewer on an emotional,
heartbreaking, and paralyzing ride that leaves us feeling both empty of
emotion and totally respectable towards the way it has all turned out.
We go into "Million Dollar Baby" thinking about one thing, and leave the
theatre thinking about something on a totally different tangent
altogether. That is the genius of this film, and a stern testament to
the brilliance of Clint Eastwood, who has fashioned one of the true
contemporary masterpieces of our time. Clint Eastwood stars as
Frankie Dunn, a trainer and manager, who owns the Hit Pit Gym and whom
we find working with a contender for the world championship, Big Willie
(Mike Colter). His best friend and janitor Eddie (Morgan Freeman)
thinks that Frankie is protecting his fighters too much, reluctant to
give them a title shot. When Big Willie leaves Frankie for another,
more willing manager, Frankie essentially decides he is not going to
manage anymore. All of this changes when Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary
Swank) enters his life. At first, he is both reluctant to train her and
brutally honest in telling her that she is too old and just not good
enough to do it. But, she doesn't take no for an answer. She keeps
showing up at the gym, receiving the occasional pointer from Eddie,
until Frankie decides to take her under his wing; and, eventually he
does. From that point on, she has nowhere to go but up. Maggie starts
knocking opponents out in the first round, making it difficult for Frankie to find fighters willing to take such punishment.
So, he starts moving her up in weight class, and she keeps knocking
them out, turning her into one of the most famous and feared fighters in
all of women's boxing. That is the first 3/4 of the film. What happens
in the final 1/4 of the film I will not divulge because I would not
dream of taking something like that away from the viewer. Rest assured,
you have little to no idea of what it is and your heart cannot take such
an overload easily. That is the pain of "Million Dollar Baby".
There are three scenes in this film that I would rank up there as some
of the greatest scenes of all-time. The first comes when Morgan Freeman
takes Hilary Swank to a restaurant for her birthday, telling her that if
she wants a title shot, then she might want to find another manager. He
has also invited another manager to drop by. She walks right up to the
man, shakes his hand, and tells him to leave her the hell alone.
Powerful. The next comes when Morgan Freeman is helping out his
trainee Danger (Jay Baruchel) -- a mentally retarded kid from Texas who
has too much heart and not enough brains -- who has just been attacked
by another guy from the gym. Morgan Freeman straps on his gloves, walks
over to the guy and...well...just watch the movie. And, the final scene
is when Maggie goes to visit her family, who live in Missouri and are
the true definition of white trash. By the end of the film, you will be
wanting to find where her family lives and burn their trailer to the
ground. Just the way Maggie looks after they have demolished her is
incredible -- Hilary Swank was born for this role...as was Eastwood...as
was Freeman. And, the performances. We'll start with the big dog,
Clint Eastwood. Many say that this is his best work to date as an
actor, and I would have to agree. We rarely see Eastwood show any
emotion at all. Here, he proves his emotional range and delivers one of
the most likable and complex characters of his vast career. All of that
vengeance and hate from "Unforgiven" is replaced here with compassion,
loyalty, and love. We see in the way that he writes his daughter every
week that he is a man haunted by his past, but still has enough left for
a bright and prosperous future. Hilary Swank also delivers the
performance of her career in both a physically and emotionally
exhausting role. She has the hillbilly accent down for the count and we
never really see her as Hilary Swank...we always see her as Maggie.
Morgan Freeman (aka The Man With the Perfect Narrator Voice) also
shines in a role that gives him two or three scenes that steal the show.
As Eddie, he brings all the wisdom and toughness you can imagine from a man with his kind of
past, and he does so without ever making us believe he is anything other
than a nice old man. Essentially, "Million Dollar Baby" is not
even a movie about a boxer, but a movie about relationships. The first
is between Eastwood and Swank -- a father/daughter relationship. He has
not able to have a relationship with his own daughter, so having her is
the next best thing. This becomes even more evident when Eastwood
reveals to Swank the origin of the Gaelic nickname he gave her. The
next relationship is between Morgan Freeman and Jay Baruchel -- a
father/son relationship. Freeman knows the kid is not going to be a
fighter and he respects his disability, but never once discourages his
from what obviously keeps him happy and keeps him motivated. This is
probably the most touching relationship of the film. The final is
between Eastwood and Freeman -- a brother/brother relationship. These
two men have been through everything together, largely because they both
respect one another. In a sense, they are really Side A and Side B of
the same line. Maggie would have to be their center. "Million Dollar
Baby" is a masterpiece and the best film released in 2004. It should
win every single Oscar for which it was nominated and every single one
of you should see it as soon as possible. It is not an easy film to
watch, or digest, but it is a film with a power so moving and so
haunting that you might never look at Clint Eastwood the same way again.
I don't think he wants us to. So, add me to the hundreds, maybe even
thousands, of other critics who find this film to be absolutely
flawless. And, add me to the list of people who think that, though
Scorsese deserves an Oscar for Best Director, he doesn't come close to
the brilliance that Eastwood displays with this picture. I laughed, I
cried, I gasped in shock. I did everything but go into labor. "Million
Dollar Baby" is a beautiful and elegant love song to cinema, and
Eastwood's opus for the ages. Enjoy. I know you will.
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