Review of Million Dollar Baby (2004) by Russell Q — 16 Jan 2015

Clint Eastwood makes another classic masterpiece! Million Dollar Baby is outstanding and remarkable! Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman give the greatest performances of their careers in this boxing drama that is one of 2004's greatest films. Eastwood doesn't just make this better than his 2003 film, Mystic River, he puts this one up with his 1992 Oscar-winning Picture, Unforgiven.

Eastwood plays Frankie Dunn, a boxing trainer who had his whole life in the ring and writes letters to his daughter, who just returns them and just lost his greatest boxer. One day, a woman named Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), a waitress who wants a trainer to help her with boxing. Frankie won't help her because he says, "I don't train girls". Maggie shows up to Frankie's gym and works hard to make boxing the most meaningful part of her life. Frankie thinks she will be weak because she lacks experience, she is too old at 31, and he never thinks about women boxing. Maggie then finally wins Frankie's respect, and he decides to train her which leads to a new relationship between them. Morgan Freeman plays Eddie 'Scrap-Iron' Dupris, Dunn's best friend and assistant in the gym who also helps Maggie.

Featuring a wonderful script by Paul Haggis, who adapted from a short story from F.X. Toole, Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner, Million Dollar Baby proves to be another Eastwood masterpiece! Hilary Swank gives one of her greatest perfomances since Boys Don't Cry. Morgan Freeman gives his best performance since his 1994 classic, The Shawshank Redemption, but even better. Clint Eastwood produces and directs this movie like Unforgiven. Million Dollar Baby is a marvelous movie that Eastwood fans will love for generations!