Million Dollar Baby is rich in emotion

20 January 2005
Clint Eastwood's latest directorial effort, Million Dollar Baby, is a drama that starts in the boxing ring and ends in the heart. It is a poignant tale about hope, failure, and old ghosts. It is also the best film Eastwood has ever made.Frankie Dunn is an aging owner of a boxing gym who trains a boxer to the brink of a title fight only to miss a timely opportunity. When an aspiring female boxer, Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), approaches him for training, he rebuffs her as just a girl boxer and too old at 31 years. Maggie is a waitress whose desire to fight is her ultimate dream as she attempts to make something of her life that has been a rural, backwoods existence. Dunn's best friend, Eddie Dupris (Morgan Freeman), takes a liking to the boxer's heart and work ethic, and eventually the two win Frankie over. Frankie's rules are to never question him in training and to always protect oneself in the ring. A slow but gradual learning curve ensues as Maggie becomes a polished boxer who displays a stunning record of wins, mostly by knockouts. Meanwhile, Frankie takes a liking to his protégé and begins to become attached to her. Their relationship is a contrast to his personal demons. His soul struggles with doubt and guilt as he attends church with constant regularity and the letters he sends to his estranged daughter are always returned unopened.Maggie becomes the focal point of Frankie's world as she attracts boxing matches from top competition which leads to a possible championship in Las Vegas. It is at this point that the story takes a path that is unexpected and startling. It is here that two lives are changed forever and boxing seems trivial in light of subsequent events. And it is here that hard choices and decisions are made.Based on a group of stories by the late F. X. Toole, Paul Haggis's screenplay is a beauty, filled with memorable dialogue and a story arc that takes its audience on a journey of humanity. The leading cast makes the most of the material. The scenes between Eastwood and Freeman ring true and validate two characters that go way back. Most actors pale in comparison to these two consummate pros at the height of their powers. Morgan Freeman, whose character narrates the story much as he did in Shawshank Redemption, lends strong support. Hilary Swank, who won an Oscar in Boys Don't Cry, is outstanding in a role which required rigorous training while etching a vivid character whose life takes a dramatic shift. Eastwood has always been a solid director and producer. While his early films took advantage of his tough guy image and did not require much thespian range, he filled those roles quite successfully. In recent years, he has grown as director and as a performer by allowing himself some choice dramatic projects (Unforgiven and Bridges of Madison County). But this is without a doubt his greatest piece of acting. He has allowed himself to let go and get to his inner self, and the results are touching and impressive.As a director, Eastwood has proved with films like Unforgiven and Mystic River that he has a strong, disciplined vision. His work here is most assured and it is very evident that he has matched if not surpassed his previous highs. He is patient and methodical in how he adds layers upon layers of dialogue and scenes to develop his characters into full blooded people. When Maggie approaches Frankie at first, he has no interest in training her, but you know these two will somehow end up working together. Eastwood does not go for easy clichés as she tries to win him over with help from Eddie. Even when he uses tried and true formulas, he does them well. And when Frankie decides to give her a chance, the journey is earned believably. Eastwood's direction is economic and lean. In fact, the pacing is deliberate and there is really no extraneous material (as in earlier good efforts like The Outlaw Josie Wales) to cut or trim. It may be the best job of directing this past year.Technical categories are strong particularly in cinematography with the darkly lit scenes that add so much to the mood and texture of the moment, and the editing which lends much urgency to the fights and offers unique transitions in the dramatic scenes. (It is interesting that as Maggie ascends to bigger fight venues, the crowds are more affluent and better dressed by the costume department.) Eastwood does a pretty good job of composing some eloquent music. What a multitalented threat he is becoming! There is not much to quibble with this film. Sure, Maggie's white trash family is a bit too stereotypical and one dimensional. We don't get to the bottom of Frankie's family background as much as we'd like. Some of the fights are bloody and violent but not particularly gratuitous or self serving as in Raging Bull.What ostensibly starts out as a pretty darn good boxing story becomes transformed into a powerful human drama that eschews even its fighting pedigree. Boxing is just a pretext for a much larger canvas. There is the drama of individual struggle and achievement, yet the story aims much higher and raises the ante in tone and direction in ways the audience can't quite anticipate. Eastwood challenges himself and the audience with a story that is not easy and pat. It is a movie that dares to go to areas that are controversial and gut wrenching. While audiences may have a tough time sitting through Million Dollar Baby a second or third time, they sure as hell will be grateful they did just once.**** out of ****