Million Dollar Baby   

Frankie Dunn: Clint Eastwood

Maggie Fitzgerald: Hilary Swank

Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris: Morgan Freeman

Danger Barch: Jay Baruchel

Father Horvak: Brian O'Byrne

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Screenplay by Paul Haggis

Based on the short stories by

F.X. Toole

In the masterful Million Dollar Baby, the latest film from Clint Eastwood, we are treated to a quietly subtle and evocative story that examines all aspects of human emotion and drama.  It’s a brilliant film with strong characters, and is easily one of the best of the year. 

Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) is a boxing trainer and owner of the Hit Pit.  After Frank is dropped by a fighter right before he gets a shot at the title, he’s encouraged by his friend and gym caretaker, Eddie “Scrap-Iron” Dupris to train Maggie Fitzgerald, a girl who has been working out at the gym and hoping for a chance to train with Frank.  Scrap sees something in her, and, perhaps, Frank does, too, because he ultimately agrees to take her on.  

Eventually, Maggie becomes almost too good, knocking out opponents left and right until nobody wants to fight her anymore, and Frank must use different methods to get opponents for her.  Million Dollar Baby is not about boxing, though.  Boxing is just a backdrop for this story about these people and the relationships they build over their time spent together. 

Maggie knows she’s nothing but small-town white trash trying to make something of herself.  She has an unappreciative and cruel family back home and a drive towards accomplishing her goal of becoming a great boxer.  Frank is getting older.  He keeps writing letters to his daughter that go unopened and has never been able to forgive himself for past faults.  

The bond that forms between Maggie and Frankie over the course of her training is unbreakable.  From the very beginning, she was able to recognize in him something that had been missing in her life ever since her father passed away.  And in his own mind, Frank was able to rebuild his relationship with his daughter by taking Maggie under his wing.  They become inseparable as Maggie keeps getting better, and they both understand and need each other equally. 

Million Dollar Baby is an excellent movie, which is mainly due to Eastwood’s flawless direction.  This film only proves how much is often missed when ordinary directors insert sentimentality over substance.  Clint Eastwood is no ordinary director, and in this movie he makes it look effortless.  

He presents the story as it is, a developing friendship that slowly grows into so much more.  He doesn’t pull any tricks and sets the perfect mood and tone for the film from the outset.  All the characters have interesting back stories that are slowly revealed as we get to know each person intimately, and the film moves towards resolutions for each character that are both natural and compelling.  

Hilary Swank proves with this performance that her Oscar-winning turn in Boys Don’t Cry was no fluke.  She deftly combines naiveté with small-town stubbornness to produce a character you cannot help but root for.  This is Clint Eastwood’s best acting work since Unforgiven in a beautifully understated role, and Morgan Freeman once again proves that he is one of the greatest actors of the last two generations as the crusty old fighter and film’s narrator.  The back-and-forth between these three principal characters is unforgettable.  Conversations about socks and travel plans elucidate perfectly who these people are more than any expositional dialogue ever could. 

We are also treated to one of the most humanistic portrayals of a priest in a movie that I have ever seen.  Frank goes to church every day for 23 years and you can tell that the relationship between these two is unique.  What kinds of sins are being atoned for by a man who goes to church this often?  Who knows?  But Father Horvak is always there when Frank needs him for advice.  Even though I am not Catholic, it is refreshing to see a priest presented in such a natural way. 

There is a not-so-sudden turn in the plot of this movie that has polarized audiences and critics alike, although, the number of dissatisfied people is very few.  All I will say about it is don’t let anyone ruin it for you.  Million Dollar Baby is one of the most powerful movies I’ve seen in a long time, and it will stick with you long after you leave the theater as you think about the many questions raised by the fates of these skillfully depicted characters.