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DVD Million Dollar Baby (Widescreen Edition)
Clint Eastwood's 25th film as a director, Million Dollar Baby stands proudly with Unforgiven and Mystic River as the masterwork of a great American filmmaker. In an age of bloated spectacle and computer-generated effects extravaganzas, Eastwood turns an elegant screenplay by Paul Haggis (adapted from the book Rope Burns: Stories From the Corner by F.X. Toole, a pseudonym for veteran boxing manager Jerry Boyd) into a simple, humanitarian example of classical filmmaking, as deeply felt in its heart-wrenching emotions as it is streamlined in its character-driven storytelling. In the course of developing powerful bonds between "white-trash" Missouri waitress and aspiring boxer Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), her grizzled, reluctant trainer Frankie Dunn (Eastwood), and Frankie's best friend and training-gym partner Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris (Morgan Freeman), 74-year-old Eastwood mines gold from each and every character, resulting in stellar work from his well-chosen cast. Containing deep reserves of love, loss, and the universal desire for something better in hard-scrabble lives, Million Dollar Baby emerged, quietly and gracefully, as one of the most acclaimed films of 2004, released just in time to earn an abundance of year-end accolades, all of them well-deserved. --Jeff Shannon
Review(s): DVD Million Dollar Baby (Widescreen Edition)
Good and bad
What I realized I liked about this film was the acting of Hillary Swank and Morgan Freeman who give outstanding performances. I was disappointed in a few things in the story, the retard, the female boxer who landed the late blows, and the greedy family members, all came across as one-dimensional stereotypes to this viewer. Clint's lack of acting skills was noticable when paired up with Morgan and Hillary. Most of all the end (plot twist) could have been in one-fourth the time, as opposed to the draggy way it resolved
Clint has done better!
I saw the movie Million Dollar Baby with my girlfriend mostly because my sister said it was absolutely one of the best movies she had ever seen. I still am trying to see what she saw. This movie is a real sleeper. The movie is very predictable. The ending makes absolutely no sense and is very unrealistic. I have seen a lot of Clint Eastwoods movies and this is one of the few that I can say does not live up to his potential. This movie is more or less a female version of the much better movie "Rocky" Rocky had a real underdog story behind it.
The characters in this movie could have A LOT more depth. The story ends with quite a few things left unexplained. In Rocky, you actually wanted him to win and you found yourself pulling for him all the way. This story really never truly gives you that feeling. I have talked to co-workers who have seen this movie and they feel the same way. If you want a good, root for the underdog movie, stick with Rocky. He knocks this movie out!
I finally got to see "Million Dollar Baby" last night when my son talked me into taking him to the video store. While he picked out something for himself, I made a bee-line for a movie I'd wanted to see since its' release. Some things improve with age and Clint Eastwood definitely fits into that category. I don't think he's acted in or directed anything that hasn't been very good or great since he quit being Dirty Harry. After all the hype I had heard for roughly a year, I was afraid I'd be in for a let down. To my pleasant surprize, "Million Dollar Baby" was better than I thought it would be (and I was expecting something pretty darn good).
There are things that make good movies great and "Million Dollar Baby" has most of them. The acting is superb with special recognition to the top three in the cast; Eastwood, Hillary Swank, and the ever-reliable Morgan Freeman. The story is very good as well. I admit that I had my doubts about women's professional boxing. However, it was very easy to buy into the script. In fact, I don't think that the story would have worked nearly as well with a male boxer instead. However, the greatest aspect of this movie is the directing. There are so many short takes and side stories that weave into such a completeness.
The story itself is rather simple and, to a point, rather predictable. An aging boxing trainer/manager (played by Eastwood) is asked to train a female boxing wannabe (played by Hillary Swank) who's already a bit old to be entering the profession. Obviously he turns the woman down and, just as obviously, the movie doesn't end with that refusal. Those short takes and side stories tell us why the manager, Frankie Dunn, eventually takes her on. Naturally, with his training, her career takes off. I'll let up on the plot at that point. You probably know the rest but let's not take chances. I had heard just enough to have a general idea of what happened next. Even so, when the first big moment came, it hit me like a brick even though I knew it was coming. The eventual climax was also something I knew was coming. I admit that I had an issue with that. My wife, who is a quadraplegic, came in around this point in the movie and watched the rest of it with me. We both realized that there were some very wrong choices being made. I was prepared to dwell on that but I realized that I could let go of that and focus on the bigger picture. You see, the movie isn't about her; it's about him.
For all of the drama and excitement of boxing and the odd relationships it fosters, "Million Dollar Baby" comes down to a story about love and the sacrifice one man is willing to make for someone he cares for. For those of us concerned about the moral issue raised by this movie it is important to consider the real dilemna of Frankie Dunn. All of those rather odd (and somewhat humorous) scenes of his visits with his priest lets us know that this is a man who is devoted to his Catholic faith. He may not always grasp the particulars but he has been quietly living his faith all these years and now it is truly put to the test. In granting his friend's wish, Dunn forfeits everything he holds dear. To put it theologically; Dunn betrays the greatest commandment in favor of the second greatest commandment. Let's face it; most of us are at least a commandment or two below that. In making a movie that delivers so powerful a message, Clint Eastwood has created a masterpiece!
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