Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank)
Million Dollar Baby is about a young wannabe boxer, an old, retired boxer, and a guy who trains boxers. Yet, if you walk into the film expecting it to be about boxing, you may be surprised. The meat and potatoes of its real subject matter does not manifest itself until late in the picture, when the narrative has locked itself forcefully upon us. By this point, it is able to squeak in a slightly slanted approach to a controversial topic but overall stay relatively objective because we see why certain things have been highlighted over others. We walk a mile in the shoes of the characters before being expected and required to judge them on their actions.
Clint Eastwood directs and stars (and composes the score, too, by the way) as Frankie Dunn, the owner of a run-down gym. Frankie has helped train a young boxer to a title fight, but when it becomes clear the elderly man may never give his pupil a chance, the fighter walks away. Only Eddie Dupris (Morgan Freeman) has stayed by Frankie's side over the years, a former champ who now takes care of the day-to-day operations at the gym as well as custodial duties.
Frankie is approached by an eager 31-year old woman named Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank). She wants him to train her and he is stubbornly reluctant at first. But so is Maggie, and soon the pair embark on a rugged regiment that will lead to a series of matches against formidable opponents. As Maggie jumps through hoops, we find out that Frankie has a secret or two, and that his friendship with and tutelage of Maggie may be helping to shed some light on his past.
Like the characters who go from obscurity to success, the movie has gone from a small project Eastwood tackled as a labour of love to a full-blown critical darling and hit at the box office. The biggest challenge in promoting the film has been in avoiding its so-called "plot twist" (which, in retrospect, is not as earth-shattering as expected, but is still a powerful development in its own right). In my opinion, although the acclaim it's been getting has mostly been justified, there is a specific subplot that is not up to snuff, namely Maggie's relation to her direct family and how these scenes play out. These are contrived if one considers they have likely been inserted in order to toetag a villain in the story, rather than risk making any of the lead characters come across as disagreeable or unlikeable.
Swank, Freeman and Eastwood all work very well together, and each has been nominated for countless awards for their performances. Eastwood says so much with a glance or an expression here that it does come across as one of his best onscreen turns. Freeman reprises his wise old man routine from previous fare such as The Shawshank Redemption, so nothing new here, but Swank is infinitely watchable for the resolve and grit she brings to Maggie. A couple of great supporting turns to watch for are Jay Baruchel as a scrawny and clueless boxer and Brian F. O'Byrne as a priest whom Frankie both pesters and prods in order to trigger ethical and moral debates.
Although Million Dollar Baby is not the best film of the year, it is certainly one of the more affecting and well-made. Eastwood directs the piece with a steady hand and a lot of flair, in spite of its awkward title. It's the kind of movie that sneaks up on you and provides a rewarding payoff by not easily answering all of its moral questions or divulging the outcomes of some of its more overt secrets. By its conclusion, whether one agrees or disagrees with the actions of the characters, we are grateful at least for the opportunity to ponder them in the first place.
