A very sad movie, Frankie and Maggie's relationships are very beautiful and it was like the relationship of the father with his daughter. The story of the film was very beautiful and the directing in the film was excellent and the acting in the film was great among all the heroes of the film Maggie's death was sad The effect of her death on Frankie and his retirement from training made me very sad The film He deserved all the trophies he won
1,360 Reviews
A Punch In The Stomach
marcosaguado20 March 2005
I don't know why, but I went into the theater thinking I was about to see a female Rocky Balboa kind of deal. I left the theater in a daze. Overwhelmed by the simple truth of its conclusion. My hat to Clint Eastwood. What an extraordinary career. An artist of enormous proportions so well camouflaged behind a shy smile and a charming, clumsy attitude. I remember focusing on Clint Eastwood through a very different lens after sitting through "Pale Rider" a mythological, lyrical western. Actors love him because he, clearly, doesn't lie to them, doesn't kiss their asses. He quite simply gives them room to maneuver. Even someone like Meryl Streep, felt freer and capable to stretch herself all the way to Italy under his wing. Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins, Jude Law, Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman yes mostly men but there was also, other than Meryl Streep, Genevieve Boujold. Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney and now Hillary Swank with a performance that not even "Boys don't Cry" could predict. The film is a triumph in every department. My stomach ached from feeling. That's a compliment Mr. Eastwood. Thank you very much.
Superb!
namashi_121 August 2010
Clint Eastwood is a legendary film personality. I am a great fan of his. As an actor, I had my reservations with him, but as a storyteller, I have truly inhaled him. 'Million Dollar Baby' is amongst his finest films, a superb film, that almost reaches a Landmark level!
About a hardened trainer/manager works with a determined woman in her attempt to establish herself as a boxer. 'Million Dollar Baby' begins with some humor, then it improves itself into becoming a motivational punch, but ends as a dry and depressing saga. I adored almost everything about the film, except the final 20-25 minutes. The culmination is very depressing. In fact, one just doesn't imagine it would have to end this way! But in all fairness, this one is a winner!
Eastwood's understanding to the subject is objective and that's biggest plus point. Tom Stern's Cinematography is splendid. Joel Cox's editing is razor-sharp.
In the acting department, Hilary Swank delivers a Knock-out performance. She is the life of the show. Morgan Freeman is wonderfully restrained. Eastwood's performance, is a pure of example, of apt multi-tasking. Jay Baruchel as Danger, is flawless. Anthony Mackie is his usual self. Brian F. O'Byrne is passable.
On the whole, the list of accolades this 2004 flick received is truly unprecedented. It's got a legendary tag. From this writer, Thumbs Up!
About a hardened trainer/manager works with a determined woman in her attempt to establish herself as a boxer. 'Million Dollar Baby' begins with some humor, then it improves itself into becoming a motivational punch, but ends as a dry and depressing saga. I adored almost everything about the film, except the final 20-25 minutes. The culmination is very depressing. In fact, one just doesn't imagine it would have to end this way! But in all fairness, this one is a winner!
Eastwood's understanding to the subject is objective and that's biggest plus point. Tom Stern's Cinematography is splendid. Joel Cox's editing is razor-sharp.
In the acting department, Hilary Swank delivers a Knock-out performance. She is the life of the show. Morgan Freeman is wonderfully restrained. Eastwood's performance, is a pure of example, of apt multi-tasking. Jay Baruchel as Danger, is flawless. Anthony Mackie is his usual self. Brian F. O'Byrne is passable.
On the whole, the list of accolades this 2004 flick received is truly unprecedented. It's got a legendary tag. From this writer, Thumbs Up!
A movie that will last
NoArrow8 January 2005
Warning: Spoilers
"Million Dollar Baby" has great characters, but it doesn't glorify them. It has a wonderful story, but it never tries to impress you. The photography, score and direction is superb, but never distracting. What this movie is, if I have to call it something, is passion. Passion for film-making, passion for storytelling, passion for its characters, passion for its actors, and passion for its story and the means at which it will go to tell it. Amazing.
Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) owns a messy boxing gym which is populated, mostly, by downbeat losers who he spends some time training. He runs it with his friend and former student Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris (Morgan Freeman), who now lives contently at a room in the gym. One day a young woman named Maggie (Hilary Swank) walks in, looking for a manager and trainer. Frankie shafts her immediately ("girly, tough ain't enough"). Frankie has bigger things on his hands. He's managing a fighter who has a shot at a title bout.
But Frankie is old and weathered and not an appealing manager, so the fighter leaves him. Frankie is broken by this; it is another in a long line of rejections and separations. We can tell that, at this time in his life, he only gets really close with those he's training (Scrap is the only exception). We can tell that his loneliness and a bit of persuasion from Scrap cause him to agree to teach Maggie. Teach, that is the agreement, not manage. But, by the end of the film he will have devoted his life to her.
So the rest of the story follows these two people. There is no real 'plot' that you could describe in a trailer because it is constantly changing it is not the inspiring underdog story you may think of it as. No, what it's 'about' is these characters, and how they react to the circumstances around them, which change with each scene.
Narrating the story is Scrap, speaking like he's looking back to a time long ago when everything has passed. His voice seems flat, deadpan, but there is a working of subtle sorrow in it. Scrap is a sad human being, he sees himself as the result of missed opportunities in the past, and so he spends his time helping the others, offering them his wise advice, with a tone of deadpan humor and even cockiness. Scrap knows what should be done, and what will happen regardless, and he is sort of okay with everything, in a sort of passive way. But the man also knows what's right and he has a deep, inner strength which is displayed in one scene in particular where you just have to cheer. It is an intriguing character, and personally I think it's Freeman's best performance.
And Eastwood's best too. He is an elderly man; some might say too elderly to still be working. After all, most people are retired by his age. But if you had to guess when you're watching this film, you would never, ever say the man is seventy-four. You would say something closer to the sixties, because the man has such amazing energy and dedication, and above all, he has talent. It's been forty long years since "A Fist Full of Dollars" and film has come a long way, and so has this man. At seventy-four, passed all those years as an action hero, nearing what's could be the end of his career, Eastwood has made his best movie. I really, really hope he has time to make many more.
As for Swank, well, she must have found something big that she shared with her character, because this is not acting, it is existing. Swank is Maggie. That's all there is too it. This could be the movie she will be remembered for.
So, "Million Dollar Baby" is a masterpiece. I saw it last night when it opened in my city, and everyone else was seeing "White Noise", and I was shaking my head. Everyone who is even remotely interested in movies should see this one, just so they can know how movies are supposed to be made. I'm trying to think, and there is not a single thing here where Eastwood went wrong. The acting, directing, writing, score, cinematography they all accomplish precisely what they're supposed to with sublime perfection. Many of these aspects will certainly receive Oscars and all of them should.
You may cry through this film, you may cheer. Whatever the case, you will love it.
9/10.
Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) owns a messy boxing gym which is populated, mostly, by downbeat losers who he spends some time training. He runs it with his friend and former student Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris (Morgan Freeman), who now lives contently at a room in the gym. One day a young woman named Maggie (Hilary Swank) walks in, looking for a manager and trainer. Frankie shafts her immediately ("girly, tough ain't enough"). Frankie has bigger things on his hands. He's managing a fighter who has a shot at a title bout.
But Frankie is old and weathered and not an appealing manager, so the fighter leaves him. Frankie is broken by this; it is another in a long line of rejections and separations. We can tell that, at this time in his life, he only gets really close with those he's training (Scrap is the only exception). We can tell that his loneliness and a bit of persuasion from Scrap cause him to agree to teach Maggie. Teach, that is the agreement, not manage. But, by the end of the film he will have devoted his life to her.
So the rest of the story follows these two people. There is no real 'plot' that you could describe in a trailer because it is constantly changing it is not the inspiring underdog story you may think of it as. No, what it's 'about' is these characters, and how they react to the circumstances around them, which change with each scene.
Narrating the story is Scrap, speaking like he's looking back to a time long ago when everything has passed. His voice seems flat, deadpan, but there is a working of subtle sorrow in it. Scrap is a sad human being, he sees himself as the result of missed opportunities in the past, and so he spends his time helping the others, offering them his wise advice, with a tone of deadpan humor and even cockiness. Scrap knows what should be done, and what will happen regardless, and he is sort of okay with everything, in a sort of passive way. But the man also knows what's right and he has a deep, inner strength which is displayed in one scene in particular where you just have to cheer. It is an intriguing character, and personally I think it's Freeman's best performance.
And Eastwood's best too. He is an elderly man; some might say too elderly to still be working. After all, most people are retired by his age. But if you had to guess when you're watching this film, you would never, ever say the man is seventy-four. You would say something closer to the sixties, because the man has such amazing energy and dedication, and above all, he has talent. It's been forty long years since "A Fist Full of Dollars" and film has come a long way, and so has this man. At seventy-four, passed all those years as an action hero, nearing what's could be the end of his career, Eastwood has made his best movie. I really, really hope he has time to make many more.
As for Swank, well, she must have found something big that she shared with her character, because this is not acting, it is existing. Swank is Maggie. That's all there is too it. This could be the movie she will be remembered for.
So, "Million Dollar Baby" is a masterpiece. I saw it last night when it opened in my city, and everyone else was seeing "White Noise", and I was shaking my head. Everyone who is even remotely interested in movies should see this one, just so they can know how movies are supposed to be made. I'm trying to think, and there is not a single thing here where Eastwood went wrong. The acting, directing, writing, score, cinematography they all accomplish precisely what they're supposed to with sublime perfection. Many of these aspects will certainly receive Oscars and all of them should.
You may cry through this film, you may cheer. Whatever the case, you will love it.
9/10.
It Doesn't Get Better Than This
bkoganbing17 May 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I'm not sure Clint Eastwood shouldn't have just retired after making Million Dollar Baby. Because films don't get any better than this or more poignant.
Maybe Clint was influenced by the career of his young co-star Hillary Swank. When Swank got the Oscar for Boys Don't Cry it was said that it was a pity she reached such a dazzling pinnacle in acting, that it wasn't possible to top it. She might not have topped it, but she certainly equaled it in Million Dollar Baby in every sense of the word.
Clint is certainly beyond the days of being an action hero, no more Dirty Harrys or the Man With No Name films for him in his seventies. But in playing Frankie Dunn as a senior citizen he's put a coda on his career with a role that leaves those iconic parts in the dust.
Million Dollar Baby is a generational love story, but not romance, not hardly in that sense. Clint is a lonely old man, alienated from what family he has left which happens to be a daughter and involved in the running of his gym where prize fighters train.
Boxing is integrated now, women do participate against each other to be sure, but it certainly wasn't so when Eastwood was starting. So it was a fateful day indeed when Maggie Fitzgerald played by Hillary Swank showed up to learn the fine points of pugilism.
I'm sure that Swank took some of the points of character from Brandon Teena in playing Maggie Fitzgerald. It's not an issue of sexual identity for Swank, but both characters come from this white trash background and both yearn for something more in life. There are dozens of sports stories involving men and women who escaped drab lives through athletic skill. The only difference in Million Dollar Baby is that boxing was not open to women until recently.
To use that phrase from another recent film classic, Swank completes Eastwood. She gives him in the family he's lost even if it's ever so briefly and he provides a strong father figure that she lacked in her life.
It all ends so horrifically tragic that I can't say more, but that it's here where even the frozen Medusa would thaw out in tears at the powerful performances of Eastwood and Swank.
Million Dollar Baby won four of the seven Oscars it was nominated for in 2004. It won for Best Picture and Best Director for Clint Eastwood and Hillary Swank just as she did for Boys Don't Cry just blew out the competition for Best Actress. And Morgan Freeman who was Eastwood's friend and live-in gym manager and trainer for Swank copped a Best Supporting Actor Award. It's he who narrates Million Dollar Baby, he's the chronicler of the unfolding tragedy.
I suppose the moral of the story is never settle for mediocrity, always strive for your personal best. Even if it ends bad you haven't really lived unless you live that way. And family doesn't necessarily have to have related genes.
This film will be a classic hundreds of years from now. We can all learn some life lessons from Million Dollar Baby.
Maybe Clint was influenced by the career of his young co-star Hillary Swank. When Swank got the Oscar for Boys Don't Cry it was said that it was a pity she reached such a dazzling pinnacle in acting, that it wasn't possible to top it. She might not have topped it, but she certainly equaled it in Million Dollar Baby in every sense of the word.
Clint is certainly beyond the days of being an action hero, no more Dirty Harrys or the Man With No Name films for him in his seventies. But in playing Frankie Dunn as a senior citizen he's put a coda on his career with a role that leaves those iconic parts in the dust.
Million Dollar Baby is a generational love story, but not romance, not hardly in that sense. Clint is a lonely old man, alienated from what family he has left which happens to be a daughter and involved in the running of his gym where prize fighters train.
Boxing is integrated now, women do participate against each other to be sure, but it certainly wasn't so when Eastwood was starting. So it was a fateful day indeed when Maggie Fitzgerald played by Hillary Swank showed up to learn the fine points of pugilism.
I'm sure that Swank took some of the points of character from Brandon Teena in playing Maggie Fitzgerald. It's not an issue of sexual identity for Swank, but both characters come from this white trash background and both yearn for something more in life. There are dozens of sports stories involving men and women who escaped drab lives through athletic skill. The only difference in Million Dollar Baby is that boxing was not open to women until recently.
To use that phrase from another recent film classic, Swank completes Eastwood. She gives him in the family he's lost even if it's ever so briefly and he provides a strong father figure that she lacked in her life.
It all ends so horrifically tragic that I can't say more, but that it's here where even the frozen Medusa would thaw out in tears at the powerful performances of Eastwood and Swank.
Million Dollar Baby won four of the seven Oscars it was nominated for in 2004. It won for Best Picture and Best Director for Clint Eastwood and Hillary Swank just as she did for Boys Don't Cry just blew out the competition for Best Actress. And Morgan Freeman who was Eastwood's friend and live-in gym manager and trainer for Swank copped a Best Supporting Actor Award. It's he who narrates Million Dollar Baby, he's the chronicler of the unfolding tragedy.
I suppose the moral of the story is never settle for mediocrity, always strive for your personal best. Even if it ends bad you haven't really lived unless you live that way. And family doesn't necessarily have to have related genes.
This film will be a classic hundreds of years from now. We can all learn some life lessons from Million Dollar Baby.
Swank gives the performance of a lifetime!
ezlidblue-115 April 2011
I didn't view this film until today because I simply wasn't interested in women in boxing; however, I wish I'd seen it years ago! Hillary Swank can never make another film and this one would be her crowning glory. It takes you on a wild ride of emotions from the beginning and Clint Eastwood's curmudgeon self is part of it all. Naturally, the "voice of God" in Morgan Freeman is there to explain it all and give some meaning to what each of the characters fell. By now, everyone knows the ending but I still won't spoil it for late-comers to the film like myself. I do believe much has been made about it and it's unnecessary. Yes, you will be torn about what is morally right but you can certainly understand how Eastwood's and Swank's characters feel! Please see this film. You will understand pugilism more than ever before and you just might see some of your own self in the film! It is well worth the time!
Unforgettable, Touching, Human, Realistic, Sad, Spectacular One of the Best Dramas I Have Ever Seen
claudio_carvalho28 November 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Yesterday I finally saw the great Oscar winner of 2005, and I can say that "Million Dollar Baby" really deserves the awards of best film, director, lead actress and supporting actor, and even the prize of lead actor in the hands of Clint Eastwood would not be a mistake of the Academy: Ben Kinsley and Jamie Foxx were great, but in a whole I would have given the award to Clint Eastwood.
The story is very simple and real: Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), a poor thirty-one years old waiter from the very lower classes and with a dysfunctional loser family, decides to make a difference through the box. She convinces the experienced hardened box trainer Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) to couch her and be her manager, with the support of his old partner Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris (Morgan Freeman), who sees her potential as a boxer. Frankie has a problem of relationship with his daughter, and practically adopts Maggie along her career, until she is seriously wounded in a fight for the championship and he has to take a decision.
This unpleasant and sad theme, in the hands of another director, might have become corny. But the awesome Clint Eastwood deals with such touching story without final redemption, very realistic, making a future unforgettable classic in the genre. The characters and the dramatic situation are perfectly developed, and in the end, the viewer becomes sad, but never depressed. My vote is ten.
Title (Brazil): "Menina de Ouro" ("Golden Girl")
The story is very simple and real: Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), a poor thirty-one years old waiter from the very lower classes and with a dysfunctional loser family, decides to make a difference through the box. She convinces the experienced hardened box trainer Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) to couch her and be her manager, with the support of his old partner Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris (Morgan Freeman), who sees her potential as a boxer. Frankie has a problem of relationship with his daughter, and practically adopts Maggie along her career, until she is seriously wounded in a fight for the championship and he has to take a decision.
This unpleasant and sad theme, in the hands of another director, might have become corny. But the awesome Clint Eastwood deals with such touching story without final redemption, very realistic, making a future unforgettable classic in the genre. The characters and the dramatic situation are perfectly developed, and in the end, the viewer becomes sad, but never depressed. My vote is ten.
Title (Brazil): "Menina de Ouro" ("Golden Girl")
It's a knockout ...
tkwh16 December 2004
Flawlessly written, acted and directed, MILLION DOLLAR BABY is being hymned and wreathed by the critics as the best film of 2004. They're absolutely right. "An old master's new masterpiece," the NEW YORK TIMES said in a review that was more of an open love letter to Eastwood than anything remotely resembling a critical analysis of the film itself. For once such honey-tongued critical adulation is fully merited. Dark, edgy, subtle and at times emotionally devastating, MILLION DOLLAR BABY represents the apotheosis of Eastwood's art - the most lucid and intelligently limned expression of his philosophy of the outsider, the noble loners whose personal codes of honour set them both above and apart from the compromised, corrupt societies they inhabit. The Boxing Ring As Metaphor For Life is a hoary trope almost as old as Hollywood itself, employed to varying effect in films as diverse as THE CHAMP, GOLDEN BOY, REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT, THE GREAT WHITE HOPE, FAT CITY, ROCKY and RAGING BULL. In MILLION DOLLAR BABY, though, Eastwood the director brings a fresh eye and an entirely fresh approach to both the setting and characterisations, virtually re-inventing this venerable sub-genre rather than simply recycling its conventions. Eastwood the actor is in fine form - a commanding if increasingly weather-beaten presence - as gym owner Frankie Dunn. A case study in loneliness, Dunn's creased face is a map of places you'd rather not go to and disappointment has clearly been a life-long companion. Co-stars Hilary Swank and the magnificent Morgan Freeman, playing Frankie's unlikely protegee Maggie Fitzgerald and friend "Scrap-Iron" Dupris, give what are without question the best performances of their respective careers: deftly underplayed, their roles provide emotionally overwhelming impacts more powerful than anything glimpsed in the film's riotous fight sequences. Forming an iron triangle forged from mutual dependence, Dunn and Dupris school the impulsive but untutored Maggie in both the techniques of boxing and the tradecraft of survival in a world pre-disposed to pulverise individualism. The canvas-floored square ring becomes the arena in which all three characters confront their various demons, battling for both victory and personal redemption. Paul Haggis' screenplay is itself a masterwork, improving on its source material without betraying the concise but compelling situations and superbly drawn characters found in F.X. Toole's short stories. And, finally, Eastwood the composer's elegiac but unobtrusive score is a minor classic of its kind, a requiem to both lost souls and lost causes. MILLION DOLLAR BABY is not only the best film released in 2004 it is also the most fully realised and richly textured major studio movie of the decade.
This film made me think...
planktonrules3 August 2011
Warning: Spoilers
The SPOILER from "Million Dollar Baby" is perhaps one of the least best-kept secrets in movie history. Most people know what the big twist is in the film, but in case you are one of the few who doesn't know what it is, I have marked this review as "contains spoiler"--just in case! This film was directed by Clint Eastwood and he also directs--and he has an incredibly great track record over the past couple decades in these capacities--such as "Unforgiven" and "Gran Torino"--so I knew I had to see this film. I am very glad I did...though I must admit it tore me up emotionally watching the movie. This is not a criticism, but actually a complement. That's right. Too often, movies have nothing to say and don't take any risks--and this film clearly takes risks and has a lot to say. So, when a film like this gets me crying, it's not at all a bad thing.
The first 2/3 of the film is a boxing film. Yes, it's well-acted with Hillary Swank, Morgan Freeman and Eastwood at their best. But, it's still only a boxing film--a feel-good boxing movie. However, the up and coming boxer (Swank) is unexpectedly paralyzed in the ring-and from then on the film really is at its best and darkest. It asks the poignant questions "is assisted suicide okay?" and "do we have an innate right to die?"--especially in cases where there is no apparent quality of life. It's an important moral and ethical question that most people avoid and films almost never address--and I am glad they created a scenario where you feel very torn. It's hard to just categorically say that taking a life in such a situation is immoral--and this moral ambiguity made the film for me. Because of this, unlike most film, it has staying power. I can imagine that thousands or millions of viewers had their beliefs challenged and many were spurred on by this film to have discussions with friends and loved ones about this debate. Few films will provoke you like "Million Dollar Baby"--this, combined with a great script and great acting, make this one of the best films of the decade and I can easily see how it won the Best Picture Oscar.
By the way, it's not at all a huge criticism, but I felt that the fight scene with the spinal injury could have been handled a bit better. Having the opponent being even more vicious than Clubber Lang from "Rocky III" was a bit silly, as she would have been disqualified about 30 seconds into a real boxing match. It was a bit over the top. But, considering how perfect the film is otherwise, this should be overlooked...except for cinema freaks like myself!
The first 2/3 of the film is a boxing film. Yes, it's well-acted with Hillary Swank, Morgan Freeman and Eastwood at their best. But, it's still only a boxing film--a feel-good boxing movie. However, the up and coming boxer (Swank) is unexpectedly paralyzed in the ring-and from then on the film really is at its best and darkest. It asks the poignant questions "is assisted suicide okay?" and "do we have an innate right to die?"--especially in cases where there is no apparent quality of life. It's an important moral and ethical question that most people avoid and films almost never address--and I am glad they created a scenario where you feel very torn. It's hard to just categorically say that taking a life in such a situation is immoral--and this moral ambiguity made the film for me. Because of this, unlike most film, it has staying power. I can imagine that thousands or millions of viewers had their beliefs challenged and many were spurred on by this film to have discussions with friends and loved ones about this debate. Few films will provoke you like "Million Dollar Baby"--this, combined with a great script and great acting, make this one of the best films of the decade and I can easily see how it won the Best Picture Oscar.
By the way, it's not at all a huge criticism, but I felt that the fight scene with the spinal injury could have been handled a bit better. Having the opponent being even more vicious than Clubber Lang from "Rocky III" was a bit silly, as she would have been disqualified about 30 seconds into a real boxing match. It was a bit over the top. But, considering how perfect the film is otherwise, this should be overlooked...except for cinema freaks like myself!
Bizarre turn for the unnecessary at the end
mistereight888828 December 2004
Warning: Spoilers
Most of the comments about this film on IMDb are extremely laudatory. And until the end of Ms. Swank's last match, this film does measure up to all the plaudits. The movie is serious in tone, but it also has innumerable funny moments, and it looks great. The film is truly magical until...
... until the major twist leading to the end comes, and it comes out of nowhere. That's not automatically a bad thing, but in this case it is. The end isn't organic to what we've witnessed preceding it. My friend said it was manipulative, and I agree.
There didn't seem to be any reason to take us where the beginning took us if we were headed where we ended up. What's the point in going so tragic for no real reason? Yes every acting job was flawless, I'm talking about the story here. It was so very odd where it went because there seemed no justification for it to do so. Happy endings are by no means a requirement for a film, but endings that are somehow the narrative extension of what got us there are, and this is far from that.
It's really darn odd.
... until the major twist leading to the end comes, and it comes out of nowhere. That's not automatically a bad thing, but in this case it is. The end isn't organic to what we've witnessed preceding it. My friend said it was manipulative, and I agree.
There didn't seem to be any reason to take us where the beginning took us if we were headed where we ended up. What's the point in going so tragic for no real reason? Yes every acting job was flawless, I'm talking about the story here. It was so very odd where it went because there seemed no justification for it to do so. Happy endings are by no means a requirement for a film, but endings that are somehow the narrative extension of what got us there are, and this is far from that.
It's really darn odd.
Excellent
larryg511 January 2005
The movie is excellent. Hillary Swank deserves to receive the Oscar for her performance. I haven't seen much of her lately and am so glad that she was picked for this movie. She seems a natural for this role. Like she didn't even have to act, she just let her own emotions take charge. She stole every scene when she was on. Clint Eastwood is one heck of an actor and his directing of movies is even better. He is 75 years old and hope he has another 10 years of good movie making in him. Morgan Freeman is a great actor who never seems to receive the recognition he deserves. Tell others to see it because it isn't in the top 10 listing of viewed movies last week. I'm concerned the subject matter is too deep for most people and it will be pulled to make room for some lame-brain movie like Fat Albert.
Good acting but generally overrated
LDB_Movies16 January 2005
I wanted to like this movie, especially since I am a fan of Clint Eastwood as a director and Hilary Swank as an actress. The previews didn't interest me at all - but the almost universal praise heaped on this film did make me want to see it.
I agree with the reviewer who said the film felt "scripted" - not only that, but watching scenes (near the beginning) with Clint and Morgan were like watching people "act" and "play the scene". Hilary Swank saves the day with her performance, believable and truthful. Clint's work later in the film is exemplary. Morgan Freeman is, well, Morgan Freeman, and here he plays simply a variation on his "Driving Miss Daisy" character, mumbling through some scenes making his words incomprehensible.
I didn't feel an emotional connection to this film at all - I don't see it as "Clint's masterpiece" at all - "Mystic River" is a far superior film, which had me extremely emotionally involved. The Morgan Freeman voice-over really got on my nerves very early on. I am not a fan of voice-over - I believe it's an easy way out of explaining things rather than SHOWING them.
I can't understand all the hype about MDB - I really can't. I give it (a very generous) 7 out of 10.
I agree with the reviewer who said the film felt "scripted" - not only that, but watching scenes (near the beginning) with Clint and Morgan were like watching people "act" and "play the scene". Hilary Swank saves the day with her performance, believable and truthful. Clint's work later in the film is exemplary. Morgan Freeman is, well, Morgan Freeman, and here he plays simply a variation on his "Driving Miss Daisy" character, mumbling through some scenes making his words incomprehensible.
I didn't feel an emotional connection to this film at all - I don't see it as "Clint's masterpiece" at all - "Mystic River" is a far superior film, which had me extremely emotionally involved. The Morgan Freeman voice-over really got on my nerves very early on. I am not a fan of voice-over - I believe it's an easy way out of explaining things rather than SHOWING them.
I can't understand all the hype about MDB - I really can't. I give it (a very generous) 7 out of 10.
Vastly Overrated
maggotbrain7031 December 2004
Warning: Spoilers
I find the praise that MILLION DOLLAR BABY has received from critics baffling. I did not feel that the film connected on an emotional level, and that it was more like watching stock characters in action. Hillary Swank is very good, but her character moves from amateur boxer to championship contender while showing practically nothing in between. Clint failed to impress me with his performance (and I am a Clint fan), and Morgan Freeman continues to be highly overrated. The second half drags considerably, and I felt the whole third act to be very manipulative. I know I'm in the minority, but I felt a dissenting opinion should be voiced.
Loved The Ride
delcash00620 December 2004
Million Dollar Baby is a movie about boxing like Braveheart is a movie about men in kilts riding horses. What it is is a movie to experience if you find yourself ever entertaining thoughts about loyalty, determination, talent, no talent, age, youth, courage, fear, fate, and the pain and joy of both living and dying.
I read reviews of Million Dollar Baby and expected to like it. Roger Ebert can be soft on movies because he is plainly a big fan, but even he does not lightly toss around the M-word, masterpiece. Yet he drops it on MDB, and justly so. The story is simple and searing. A gal (Hilary Swank) with much heart and no experience aspires to be the champion of the world. She is Rocky in a sports bra. A grizzled fight trainer-manager/gym owner (Clint Eastwood) reluctantly takes her on. His best pal and wise-man assistant (Morgan Freemna) stands alongside them, as the plot unwinds steadily, seamlessly, picking up speed, scene by scene, act after act. Eastwood and Freeman are artists at the top of their profession and they, along with the brilliant Swank, present you the very worthy lives of three people you will care about and remember. The arena is boxing, but it might as well have been boating or baking. It is a story about values and truths that far exceed sports and movies. I walked into the Lowes Lincoln Square theater last night knowing Million Dollar Baby was taking me on a ride and willing to hop aboard. What a beautiful, memorable ride it was.
I read reviews of Million Dollar Baby and expected to like it. Roger Ebert can be soft on movies because he is plainly a big fan, but even he does not lightly toss around the M-word, masterpiece. Yet he drops it on MDB, and justly so. The story is simple and searing. A gal (Hilary Swank) with much heart and no experience aspires to be the champion of the world. She is Rocky in a sports bra. A grizzled fight trainer-manager/gym owner (Clint Eastwood) reluctantly takes her on. His best pal and wise-man assistant (Morgan Freemna) stands alongside them, as the plot unwinds steadily, seamlessly, picking up speed, scene by scene, act after act. Eastwood and Freeman are artists at the top of their profession and they, along with the brilliant Swank, present you the very worthy lives of three people you will care about and remember. The arena is boxing, but it might as well have been boating or baking. It is a story about values and truths that far exceed sports and movies. I walked into the Lowes Lincoln Square theater last night knowing Million Dollar Baby was taking me on a ride and willing to hop aboard. What a beautiful, memorable ride it was.
Swank! Eastwood! Freeman!
lavatch8 January 2006
It would be difficult to imagine a more perfect trio of performers the likes of Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, and Morgan Freeman in their respective roles in the emotionally-charged "Million Dollar Baby."
My favorite scenes were the early sequences in which Maggie (Swank) visits the dowdy boxing gym and co-opts Eastwood's crusty boxing trainer Frankie into becoming her mentor. Along with the veteran, retired boxer Eddie, played by Freeman, the performances were as electric as the Ali shuffle.
In the overall arc of the story of "Million Dollar Baby," there were three extraneous subplots: (1) Frankie's visits to church and his talks with the priest; (2) the story of the mentally-challenged young man named Danger, who appears in the gym and is taunted by the boxers; and (3) Maggie's family members introduced in two scenes filled with such vulgarity that much of the film's hard-earned credibility was lost. Not only would the film have worked effectively without the subplots, it would have been a much better film without them.
While Eastwood's direction was superb, much credit should also go to the designers, especially the stylish work with lighting. I cannot recall a film as dimly lit as this one, and the subdued lighting contributed substantially to the characters and mood evoked in this sensitive film. The three main performances were standouts. But this film was also a very successful team effort.
My favorite scenes were the early sequences in which Maggie (Swank) visits the dowdy boxing gym and co-opts Eastwood's crusty boxing trainer Frankie into becoming her mentor. Along with the veteran, retired boxer Eddie, played by Freeman, the performances were as electric as the Ali shuffle.
In the overall arc of the story of "Million Dollar Baby," there were three extraneous subplots: (1) Frankie's visits to church and his talks with the priest; (2) the story of the mentally-challenged young man named Danger, who appears in the gym and is taunted by the boxers; and (3) Maggie's family members introduced in two scenes filled with such vulgarity that much of the film's hard-earned credibility was lost. Not only would the film have worked effectively without the subplots, it would have been a much better film without them.
While Eastwood's direction was superb, much credit should also go to the designers, especially the stylish work with lighting. I cannot recall a film as dimly lit as this one, and the subdued lighting contributed substantially to the characters and mood evoked in this sensitive film. The three main performances were standouts. But this film was also a very successful team effort.
Big girls don't cry
jotix10030 December 2004
Warning: Spoilers
If anyone had doubts about the genius of Clint Eastwood, they should run, not walk, to see "Million Dollar Baby", perhaps the best movie that came out of Hollywood is past year.
Mr. Eastwood has that rare quality in choosing an odd story to bring to the screen. With this film he accomplishes what could be, perhaps, the best movie about boxing in history. In the first place, the story by F. X. Toole, in which the movie is based, is an odd choice. We have seen, so far, men boxers, but there is a world out there where women boxers compete in this sport that is not well known, or not commonly seen. The adaptation by Paul Haggis is excellent.
"Million Dollar Baby" has a rhythm of its own, seldom seen in boxing formula pictures. Thanks to Tom Stern almost black and white cinematography, this sordid world of second class gyms in the poor areas of the inner city, makes the film more interesting in its texture. Enhancing it all is the great musical score that Mr. Eastwood, a jazz enthusiast, has created. Music has always complimented Mr. Eastwood's work, but never in such a way as in this movie.
If you haven't seen the film, please stop reading now.
Frankie Dunn, is a man who has trained boxing champions. He is a man at odds with himself. He has demons within him that are tearing away at his soul. We watch him going to mass on a daily basis, but does that qualify him as a devout Catholic? Not according to Father Horvak, who sees a troubled soul in search of redemption.
Frankie's letters comes back, returned from a daughter that wants nothing to do with him. Frankie, at the beginning of the film, loses the services of one his better boxers because a richer competitor is willing to pay the fighter much more. Frankie keeps the older Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris employed in the gym because he feels guilty in having let this former boxer down at the highest point of Scrap's career.
Into this world comes Maggie Fitzgerald. She is a young woman who wants to make it as a fighter; she comes from a white trash background and everything is against her. The only reason she has been allowed in the all-male gym is because she has paid six months worth of membership. We watch Maggie as she struggles on her own without any help from Frankie, the man she would like to interest in coaching her. Frankie realizes there is potential in this young woman, who he sees on a daily basis practicing, and he relents. Maggie proves she follows his instructions well. Then we watch her progress as she wins fight after fight until the million dollar fight with the vicious title holder.
The ironic twist toward the end of the movie arrives out of nowhere; it shakes us up because it was totally unexpected. It makes Frankie and Maggie become father and daughter. Because of the guilt he feels in his own life, Frankie does the right thing in accepting the responsibility of the situation.
The ending is the only thing that feels a bit manipulative in the film, although it's handled with a lot of taste, as it would have been worse in the hands of another, less capable director. The only other complain is that Mr. Eastwood speaks in a whisper, which distracts from what is going on, as we strain our ears to catch every nuance of the brilliant dialog. Also, the voice over by Morgan Freeman's character is at times, unintelligible.
This is a film totally dominated by Clint Eastwood. As an actor, he brings to the role total credibility as the tormented soul inside Frankie. Hilary Swank makes a brilliant Maggie, the ambitious girl that gets much more than what she bargained for. Ms. Swank has the best moment of her career after her work in "Boys Don't Cry". Working with the right elements, Ms. Swank is an actress that works with little gestures to achieve her input in the character she is playing.
Morgan Freeman is excellent as the beaten Scrap, a man who "could have been a contender". He underplays this character with sensational results. Brian O'Byrne, a theater actor who has been seen in two important plays this year in the New York stages, makes an impression as Father Hovark, who seems to understand Frankie. Margo Martindale is convincing as Maggie's mother.
Sometimes it takes a lot for a film to be good. All the right elements were gathered by Clint Eastwood for this movie. It makes one wonder what will his next project be, or if he can surpass the milestone he created with "Million Dollar Baby".
Mr. Eastwood has that rare quality in choosing an odd story to bring to the screen. With this film he accomplishes what could be, perhaps, the best movie about boxing in history. In the first place, the story by F. X. Toole, in which the movie is based, is an odd choice. We have seen, so far, men boxers, but there is a world out there where women boxers compete in this sport that is not well known, or not commonly seen. The adaptation by Paul Haggis is excellent.
"Million Dollar Baby" has a rhythm of its own, seldom seen in boxing formula pictures. Thanks to Tom Stern almost black and white cinematography, this sordid world of second class gyms in the poor areas of the inner city, makes the film more interesting in its texture. Enhancing it all is the great musical score that Mr. Eastwood, a jazz enthusiast, has created. Music has always complimented Mr. Eastwood's work, but never in such a way as in this movie.
If you haven't seen the film, please stop reading now.
Frankie Dunn, is a man who has trained boxing champions. He is a man at odds with himself. He has demons within him that are tearing away at his soul. We watch him going to mass on a daily basis, but does that qualify him as a devout Catholic? Not according to Father Horvak, who sees a troubled soul in search of redemption.
Frankie's letters comes back, returned from a daughter that wants nothing to do with him. Frankie, at the beginning of the film, loses the services of one his better boxers because a richer competitor is willing to pay the fighter much more. Frankie keeps the older Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris employed in the gym because he feels guilty in having let this former boxer down at the highest point of Scrap's career.
Into this world comes Maggie Fitzgerald. She is a young woman who wants to make it as a fighter; she comes from a white trash background and everything is against her. The only reason she has been allowed in the all-male gym is because she has paid six months worth of membership. We watch Maggie as she struggles on her own without any help from Frankie, the man she would like to interest in coaching her. Frankie realizes there is potential in this young woman, who he sees on a daily basis practicing, and he relents. Maggie proves she follows his instructions well. Then we watch her progress as she wins fight after fight until the million dollar fight with the vicious title holder.
The ironic twist toward the end of the movie arrives out of nowhere; it shakes us up because it was totally unexpected. It makes Frankie and Maggie become father and daughter. Because of the guilt he feels in his own life, Frankie does the right thing in accepting the responsibility of the situation.
The ending is the only thing that feels a bit manipulative in the film, although it's handled with a lot of taste, as it would have been worse in the hands of another, less capable director. The only other complain is that Mr. Eastwood speaks in a whisper, which distracts from what is going on, as we strain our ears to catch every nuance of the brilliant dialog. Also, the voice over by Morgan Freeman's character is at times, unintelligible.
This is a film totally dominated by Clint Eastwood. As an actor, he brings to the role total credibility as the tormented soul inside Frankie. Hilary Swank makes a brilliant Maggie, the ambitious girl that gets much more than what she bargained for. Ms. Swank has the best moment of her career after her work in "Boys Don't Cry". Working with the right elements, Ms. Swank is an actress that works with little gestures to achieve her input in the character she is playing.
Morgan Freeman is excellent as the beaten Scrap, a man who "could have been a contender". He underplays this character with sensational results. Brian O'Byrne, a theater actor who has been seen in two important plays this year in the New York stages, makes an impression as Father Hovark, who seems to understand Frankie. Margo Martindale is convincing as Maggie's mother.
Sometimes it takes a lot for a film to be good. All the right elements were gathered by Clint Eastwood for this movie. It makes one wonder what will his next project be, or if he can surpass the milestone he created with "Million Dollar Baby".
Clint, I love you
jp_rental13 February 2005
I've been infatuated with Clint Eastwood from the time I saw his first spaghetti western when I was a teenager. I've seen all the movies he's starred in and directed. And I've seen his skills as a storyteller develop, mature and grow. Throughout this period the infatuation remained constant and re-assuring. But today, after viewing 'Million Dollar Baby', I'm totally and completely in love with this man. Clint, his movie, Freeman and Swank deserve to win Oscars in every category for this film. He is a Master of his craft. I want him stick around and do it again and again!.
And I'm in love Hilary too!. She does not act - she becomes!.
And I'm in love Hilary too!. She does not act - she becomes!.
Inspirational and hard-hitting*no pun intended*
Smells_Like_Cheese29 July 2005
Of course, I must see "THE BEST PICTURE OF 2004!", I think every movie fanatic has too. Man, cry me a river, this was a good movie! I have to admit, I had my doubts. I'm not really into boxing movies, exception: Raging Bull. But so many people told me that this was a great movie and it was. Hilary Swank, what a performance! This movie makes you feel as if anything can happen. "I got what I needed" she says to Clint Eastwood. Clint and Hilary together were absolutely perfect. They made a great team. Clint really did a great job expressing his doubts at first but believing in Hilary, it was truly inspirational.
Morgan Freeman is a remarkable actor. I'M SO HAPPY HE WON FINALLY! Even though I feel sometimes his roles are typical, he's the disrespected man, but has knowledge and helps people, he's really good at it.
I really enjoyed this movie, but just to let you know, it is a tear jerker. So you might want to have a box of Kleenex next to you. This is a wonderful film that everyone should watch. You'll feel better after you watch it, I know that sounds silly, but I'm sure that everyone else who watched it will agree with me.
10/10
Morgan Freeman is a remarkable actor. I'M SO HAPPY HE WON FINALLY! Even though I feel sometimes his roles are typical, he's the disrespected man, but has knowledge and helps people, he's really good at it.
I really enjoyed this movie, but just to let you know, it is a tear jerker. So you might want to have a box of Kleenex next to you. This is a wonderful film that everyone should watch. You'll feel better after you watch it, I know that sounds silly, but I'm sure that everyone else who watched it will agree with me.
10/10
Moved by Emotion
Minervaowls25 December 2004
Warning: Spoilers
At the end of the movie, I cried what deep sorrow I felt, how true to life and moving with emotion this movie is. To be on top of the world to fall so hard, but to have the drive to complete the task, what ever that task may be. The boxing scenes are so real and full of excitement you can almost smell the blood and sweat. I felt like I was in the arena boxing with Hillary. MR Clint Eastwood; has a directing style that is cool and smooth easy going,brilliant. To see Morgan Freeman together with Clint Eastwood two great actors verbally sparring what a treat. Morgan can hold his own against a legend. Hilary Swank Is so believable as Maggie, I feel each blow. Hilary deserves an Oscar for her performance.
Genuine emotions!
MinorityReporter30 October 2005
Or at least it seems like genuine emotions in this masterpiece of a film which incidentally is Eastwood's best drama so far and considering how good Mystic River is that's saying something. The storytelling is both fluent and well paced and all actors involved deliver some of their best work so far which is mainly because Eastwood is so good at bringing out the best in his actors. I think people who have watched this film and Mystic River will agree. Eastwood is a no-nonsense story teller and cuts right through to the bone which means that there aren't many subplots and this is a really good thing in this film because the main story doesn't need a large number of subplots to steal away attention. Also at a running length of 2 hours the film would undoubtedly have been too long if Eastwood had added any more subplots.
The acting is as mentioned earlier very, very good. Clint chose to appear in this film himself as he does in many of the films he directs but there is something different about him this time around. Eastwood isn't known as a director who pours his soul out on the screen but in this film he seems to add a few emotions to his range of acting. He is still a tough guy as can be heard from his voice but he is also just a vulnerable old man with an estranged daughter. Its hard to write about his performance without spoiling the film so I'll just say this: This is his most well rounded character to date in spite of the fact that it seems a little far fetched that Eastwood would want to learn Gaelic. Hilary Swank won an Oscar for her performance in this film and in my opinion it was well earned. She plays her character in a way so the character becomes almost instantly likable and you cannot help but root for her. This ability to draw the audience in and make them feel is very rare but Swank seems to have mastered it. Overall her performance is impressive. The last notable actor is of course Morgan Freeman who finally won his Oscar. He brings his usual authority and authenticity to the character and while he is "only" a supporting character in this film he definitely puts his signature on it with some very moving scenes. The rest of the cast is decent but as the emphasis is on the three mentioned above there is no reason to talk about them further.
The script is rather simple but its simplicity is a quality mark. The film takes you in one direction only to take a twist and turn into something completely different and as the audience had just gotten used to the direction the film was going the twist seems like a genuine shock. I'm not telling what the twist is you're just going to have to watch the film and find out for yourself. The dialog is both witty and intelligent and above all it seems real. Believable. And because of the first class acting it feels even better. When I say that the dialog seems real in fact I mean the entire film seems real. Genuine. Everything from the acting to the atmosphere is highly believable and real even though Swank's character's family and the character of Danger lean ever so slightly towards caricature.
The film really managed to draw me in and I felt with and for the characters of the film. The characters are the driving factor of the film and luckily the actors who portray them are skilled enough to make them seem real. Eastwood outdid himself in the drama genre with this film which is undoubtedly one of his best. It doesn't seem fair to compare the film to Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (or The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) as they are very different films in terms of genre and target group.
Million Dollar Baby is undoubtedly one of the best films of 2004 and is deserving of the Oscar it received in the Best Film category as well as the other Oscars it was awarded.
9/10
The acting is as mentioned earlier very, very good. Clint chose to appear in this film himself as he does in many of the films he directs but there is something different about him this time around. Eastwood isn't known as a director who pours his soul out on the screen but in this film he seems to add a few emotions to his range of acting. He is still a tough guy as can be heard from his voice but he is also just a vulnerable old man with an estranged daughter. Its hard to write about his performance without spoiling the film so I'll just say this: This is his most well rounded character to date in spite of the fact that it seems a little far fetched that Eastwood would want to learn Gaelic. Hilary Swank won an Oscar for her performance in this film and in my opinion it was well earned. She plays her character in a way so the character becomes almost instantly likable and you cannot help but root for her. This ability to draw the audience in and make them feel is very rare but Swank seems to have mastered it. Overall her performance is impressive. The last notable actor is of course Morgan Freeman who finally won his Oscar. He brings his usual authority and authenticity to the character and while he is "only" a supporting character in this film he definitely puts his signature on it with some very moving scenes. The rest of the cast is decent but as the emphasis is on the three mentioned above there is no reason to talk about them further.
The script is rather simple but its simplicity is a quality mark. The film takes you in one direction only to take a twist and turn into something completely different and as the audience had just gotten used to the direction the film was going the twist seems like a genuine shock. I'm not telling what the twist is you're just going to have to watch the film and find out for yourself. The dialog is both witty and intelligent and above all it seems real. Believable. And because of the first class acting it feels even better. When I say that the dialog seems real in fact I mean the entire film seems real. Genuine. Everything from the acting to the atmosphere is highly believable and real even though Swank's character's family and the character of Danger lean ever so slightly towards caricature.
The film really managed to draw me in and I felt with and for the characters of the film. The characters are the driving factor of the film and luckily the actors who portray them are skilled enough to make them seem real. Eastwood outdid himself in the drama genre with this film which is undoubtedly one of his best. It doesn't seem fair to compare the film to Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (or The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) as they are very different films in terms of genre and target group.
Million Dollar Baby is undoubtedly one of the best films of 2004 and is deserving of the Oscar it received in the Best Film category as well as the other Oscars it was awarded.
9/10
Outstanding!
wolfdog5 February 2005
For whatever reason, I did had reservations about going to see Million Dollar Baby. I am extremely happy that I decided to go because this movie was totally entertaining from start to finish. It simply grabs you and does not let up. Million Dollar Baby will be a keeper for my video collection! Eastwood, Freeman, and Swank all give superb performances and I sincerely hope they are given their due at the Oscars in March. The character's developed throughout the film and the actor's portrayal of them made the characters believable. Granted a few of the fight scene's were a bit over the top but then it is still Hollywood. What I like the most is the lack of special effects and the total concentration on the development of the story. Borrowing from Roger Ebert: Thumbs Way UP!
Another Subtle Story by Clint Eastwood
nycritic30 January 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Three people carrying their own injuries and baggage meet and form an unlikely friendship that slowly becomes familial. Frankie is a man who has lived his entire life in the service of boxing but for reasons left unknown, has an estranged relationship with his daughter, so he has little else to do but be at the boxing gym and train. Eddie is one of his better boxers, a quiet man who can still throw a punch, and who lost an eye in an ill-fated match. Though these two men have a close-knit friendship Frankie still bears tremendous guilt over Eddie's loss. And now, a girl of all people -- Maggie -- wants Frankie to train her. She has nothing going for her, she knows it, and boxing is a way out. While at first Frankie sees no future for her -- she's 31 and has no experience -- he gives in and decides to train her to become the best female fighter ever... until tragedy arrives and gives their lives an unexpected left turn that will change them forever.
What could have been a feminist's answer to ROCKY becomes something different, revelatory. Clint Eastwood, a film director that chooses to direct his films in a deliberate pace more akin to late-night jazz, takes F. X Toole's short story and re-shapes it into visual poetry that unfolds into a tight tapestry which by the end of the film will have stirred many emotions with nary a manipulative hand in sight. Clint Eastwood finds a quiet note with his performance as Frankie, the man who could have been a curmudgeon but becomes a surrogate father to Maggie. His final words to her, in Celtic, are whispered in such a fashion, yet convey an immense gravity. Maggie herself is a complicated character: her life is boxing, she has become to symbolize the sport, and in doing so she's achieved so much in a world where all she would have been is white trash. She has a family who thumbs their noses at her career yet want her money. However, she is not an aggressive woman. If anything, she is polite, humble, respectful even when she shouldn't be. Hilary Swank strikes every note in her own rendition of the character: a soft spoken fighter who is faced with a horrific turn of events and must relinquish her love of sports. Morgan Freeman's performance is also of note, mainly because much of it happens off-screen: his measured voice, the one who tells the story, evolves into one who brings much needed closure later on.
I felt that the film spoke to me for most of its run. Maggie's story was especially compelling (even if a little predictable) but what resonated with me were the reactions of Eddie and Frankie who have less 'action' and more 'reflection'. This is a much better film than MYSTIC RIVER in the way that much of the focus is on the three leads' bonding as a quasi-family in a world that doesn't care about people like them. It takes its time, then captures your full attention, and before you know it, you are immersed in these three lives because these are people you could meet in your lifetime. And that makes a great film, especially when about the little people who are looking for that special place to live out their final years.
What could have been a feminist's answer to ROCKY becomes something different, revelatory. Clint Eastwood, a film director that chooses to direct his films in a deliberate pace more akin to late-night jazz, takes F. X Toole's short story and re-shapes it into visual poetry that unfolds into a tight tapestry which by the end of the film will have stirred many emotions with nary a manipulative hand in sight. Clint Eastwood finds a quiet note with his performance as Frankie, the man who could have been a curmudgeon but becomes a surrogate father to Maggie. His final words to her, in Celtic, are whispered in such a fashion, yet convey an immense gravity. Maggie herself is a complicated character: her life is boxing, she has become to symbolize the sport, and in doing so she's achieved so much in a world where all she would have been is white trash. She has a family who thumbs their noses at her career yet want her money. However, she is not an aggressive woman. If anything, she is polite, humble, respectful even when she shouldn't be. Hilary Swank strikes every note in her own rendition of the character: a soft spoken fighter who is faced with a horrific turn of events and must relinquish her love of sports. Morgan Freeman's performance is also of note, mainly because much of it happens off-screen: his measured voice, the one who tells the story, evolves into one who brings much needed closure later on.
I felt that the film spoke to me for most of its run. Maggie's story was especially compelling (even if a little predictable) but what resonated with me were the reactions of Eddie and Frankie who have less 'action' and more 'reflection'. This is a much better film than MYSTIC RIVER in the way that much of the focus is on the three leads' bonding as a quasi-family in a world that doesn't care about people like them. It takes its time, then captures your full attention, and before you know it, you are immersed in these three lives because these are people you could meet in your lifetime. And that makes a great film, especially when about the little people who are looking for that special place to live out their final years.
Three excellent central performances elevate a clichéd story
brchthethird24 March 2015
Clint Eastwood must have gotten soft in his old age. While this isn't necessarily a criticism, MILLION DOLLAR BABY walks a fine line between emotionally powerful drama and sappy, overly sentimental melodrama. Fortunately despite the predictable plotting and cliché dialogue, it has a trio of excellent performances that keep it out of the kitchen sink. Front and center is Hilary Swank as Maggie, a down-on-her-luck waitress who aspires to be a boxer. Her performance is what really makes the film work due to her irrepressible spirit and down-home charm. Clint Eastwood also does an admirable job as Frankie Dunn, who reluctantly ("I don't train girls") takes a role as Maggie's trainer, manager, and mentor. And then there's Morgan Freeman, one of Frankie's former fighters, and who also co-runs a gym with him. I will admit that his presence in the film adds some depth as he is a connection to Frankie's past, but I didn't feel like he was integral to the story. Still, he had one of the film's best scenes when he shows that despite losing an eye (and being old), that he still has "it" in the ring. Beyond these three central performances, the film seems content to stick to the tired sports movie formula of having a older mentor train a younger up-and-comer, at least for the first 3/4. Despite the film having been out now for over 10 years, I still won't give away the sharp turn the story takes. At that point the film becomes something else which is more obviously heavy-handed and didn't quite work for me. It also doesn't help that the film strongly hints at the outcome very early on, robbing it of a lot of the emotional impact. And that is actually my biggest problem with the film. Not content to let the performances and story stand on their own, Paul Haggis (a producer/co-writer) insists on holding the audience's hand throughout the entire film. It didn't work for me in CRASH, and didn't really work for me here either. Still, Clint Eastwood manages to elevate the material to the point where I didn't hate myself for watching it. Overall, the three central performances are enough to loosely recommend this film, but just be aware that it is somewhat heavy-handed and relies a little too much on genre clichés.
There's good, there's bad, and there's ugly - in sum, barely mediocre
wainot22 January 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Please forgive the 'cute' subject line. Also, I never intend to throw in spoilers, but in evaluating the film with total honesty, it's sometimes necessary to do so. I also don't believe in plot summaries, as you can read hundreds of them elsewhere on this very site. In some ways, this evaluation reads best if you've already seen the movie. One or two more notes: I came into this film, as always, wanting to love it, and hoping to be transported, and at times it did take me for a good ride. Also, I happened to love Mystic River, the last directorial effort by Eastwood (Frankie),I could probably listen to Morgan Freeman ("Scrap") do a voice-over of The Congressional Quarterly, and though I never saw Boys Don't Cry, I am convinced there is an earnestness and an inner beauty to Hilary Swank (Maggie) that impresses me. Okay, on to the evaluation:
The good: Swank's performance as Maggie -- she did all she could with the role, although it wasn't the most interesting character, and she was ultimately let down by poorly drawn peripheral characters and a very mediocre script. Freeman is always good, and Eastwood's acting was pretty good. The look of the film was OK, the 3 leads looked their parts, the gym looked authentic, and it gave some insight to the job of the cutman. And, at times (but not often), the voiceovers added to the film. Also, some of the byplay between Frankie and Scrap was good stone-busting, yet it never elevated to great drama or great humor - just okay
The bad: The voiceovers too often told you what to think, or what was coming. They did not enrich the story, a la Shawshank, but often were patronizing, and seemed to be a device to cover for what the "action" could not do. All of the other characters - outside of the big 3 - were poorly drawn, and two-dimensional --all of them! For a movie that gave you pretty good boxing scenes and insight, it made no sense that Maggie didn't win the title on The Blue Bear's obvious disqualification. The backstory between Scrap and Frankie was not very interesting or textured. We never get enough, or really anything, about why Frankie's daughter never reads his letters. (That's not minimalism - that's just sloppiness. And, it's not like the film doesn't hit you over the head at other times.) Also, why does Maggie - the ultimate fighter in life and in the ring - suddenly do a "180" and want to die? There are so many shortcomings here: Why didn't the scenes with the priest really come alive, intellectually or emotionally? I don't mind that the movie switched tones, but aside from a touching moment or two between Maggie and Frankie, it had very little to say, and it didn't really explore the issues with any depth.
The ugly: There was absolutely no subtlety to the depiction of Maggie's family (and they couldn't have been a minor force in shaping who she was) --just horrible, lazy, mean-spirited screen writing here. A little bit of the Danger character went a long way --was there any explanation as to why he was still doing his idiot act for months on end at the gym? Again, he was too stupid to be truly sympathetic, and too cartoonish to be anything less than pitiable. Not funny, not even dramatic - just ugly.
When I watched this movie, I thought it was about an '8" or a "b". Every time I reflect on it, I get angry at the bad script, the two dimensional characters and the wasted talent, and the inability to really involve us, other than wanting to see Maggie (the ultimate diamond in the rough) make it. So, at best, this movie, on reflection, was a "D" -- I say this with sadness, and the feeling that if I keep thinking about it, its grade will plummet further.
The good: Swank's performance as Maggie -- she did all she could with the role, although it wasn't the most interesting character, and she was ultimately let down by poorly drawn peripheral characters and a very mediocre script. Freeman is always good, and Eastwood's acting was pretty good. The look of the film was OK, the 3 leads looked their parts, the gym looked authentic, and it gave some insight to the job of the cutman. And, at times (but not often), the voiceovers added to the film. Also, some of the byplay between Frankie and Scrap was good stone-busting, yet it never elevated to great drama or great humor - just okay
The bad: The voiceovers too often told you what to think, or what was coming. They did not enrich the story, a la Shawshank, but often were patronizing, and seemed to be a device to cover for what the "action" could not do. All of the other characters - outside of the big 3 - were poorly drawn, and two-dimensional --all of them! For a movie that gave you pretty good boxing scenes and insight, it made no sense that Maggie didn't win the title on The Blue Bear's obvious disqualification. The backstory between Scrap and Frankie was not very interesting or textured. We never get enough, or really anything, about why Frankie's daughter never reads his letters. (That's not minimalism - that's just sloppiness. And, it's not like the film doesn't hit you over the head at other times.) Also, why does Maggie - the ultimate fighter in life and in the ring - suddenly do a "180" and want to die? There are so many shortcomings here: Why didn't the scenes with the priest really come alive, intellectually or emotionally? I don't mind that the movie switched tones, but aside from a touching moment or two between Maggie and Frankie, it had very little to say, and it didn't really explore the issues with any depth.
The ugly: There was absolutely no subtlety to the depiction of Maggie's family (and they couldn't have been a minor force in shaping who she was) --just horrible, lazy, mean-spirited screen writing here. A little bit of the Danger character went a long way --was there any explanation as to why he was still doing his idiot act for months on end at the gym? Again, he was too stupid to be truly sympathetic, and too cartoonish to be anything less than pitiable. Not funny, not even dramatic - just ugly.
When I watched this movie, I thought it was about an '8" or a "b". Every time I reflect on it, I get angry at the bad script, the two dimensional characters and the wasted talent, and the inability to really involve us, other than wanting to see Maggie (the ultimate diamond in the rough) make it. So, at best, this movie, on reflection, was a "D" -- I say this with sadness, and the feeling that if I keep thinking about it, its grade will plummet further.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
