Review of Million Dollar Baby (2004) by Kurt F — 29 Jun 2011

Clint Eastwood has never been on a list of the great directors or actors. Even though he's won 2 Oscars for Best Director I fell that he doesn't get the appreciation he so rightly deserves. Also, I feel his acting is very underrated. Who else could play Dirty Harry, The Man With No Name, William Munny and Frankie Dunn? Maybe these just aren't challenging roles for certain actors. But regardless I always put Eastwood in my top ranks. When's the last time you said "Boy, Clint Eastwood gave a bad performance in that movie."? Anyway, my point is he's underrated. Not just a 70's action hero.

He proves that notion like Atticus proves Tom Robinson didn't do it with this movie. Eastwood plays Frankie Dunn; a grizzled (it is Eastwood after all) gym owner and boxing trainer/manager who reluctantly takes on a girl as his fighter. That fighter is Maggie Fitzgerald played by Hilary Swank, she's given up on life save for an aspiration to become a boxer. She's refused training by Frankie until he's convinced his old pal Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris who sees the potential in Maggie. Frankie and Maggie go to the top and...

If by some chance in the year 2011 you want to and have yet to see Million Dollar Baby, for the love of God please stop reading. Oh hell, you all know the spoilers anyway! But It'd be sin to spoil it just the same. So...

*SPOILER ALERT FROM HERE ON IN*.

In a title bout with the welterweight champ Maggie's sucker punched and happens to land her neck on the side of a stool. She's paralyzed instantly with a 0.0% chance of recovery. Frankie is forced to take care of her and scrambles to do anything to help her. Eventually after she loses her leg due to lack of properly flowing blood she asks Frankie to euthanize her. Frankie does so. That my seem a bit of a rushed plot synopsis but that's the gist of it.

The story couldn't be more classical in cinematic terms; 2 old guys take on a new fighter and make it all the way. In this sense it's the best Sports film since Rocky or Raging Bull. The reason this film stands above your basic boxing movie is the final third that involves the paralyzed young woman and the old man forced to do the worst thing for the person he loves the most. This final act luckily was a complete shock surprise to me unlike most people. I was floored by what happened in this movie the first time. It still gives me shivers down my spine when I see Maggie with an air hose in her neck.

This is a movie with great performances from the leads and the surefire direction of a master. There were better films in 2004 perhaps, but I don't know if any movie moved me in my soul more that this one. And all from the guy who wore a poncho once in 1964 and... well, you know the rest. A classic film if there ever was one.