“Million Dollar Baby”: A Knockout Hit

By: Stephanie Angela Lane
Posted In: Entertainment

There is no doubt that Clint Eastwood’s “Million Dollar Baby” is a priceless movie in its own right. Eastwood’s brilliant script contains the stories of three main characters.

Frankie Dunn is an older gentleman played by Eastwood himself. He owns a gym that is used by training boxers. He also is the coach to some of the boxers he comes into contact with.

Eddie Dupris, played by Morgan Freeman, is an old friend of Dunn who lives at the gym. Through a few rough experiences in life, Dunn and Dupris have become close comrades. Their banter provides comedy during an otherwise serious plot.

The third main character, Maggie Fitzgerald, played by Hilary Swank, is a woman who comes from a family that gives her no respect or love; she works as a waitress. Despite the lack of support from her family, she decides what it is she wants in life and refuses to back down from her dream; she simply won’t take “no” for an answer.

The story is not another brainless boxer movie, where the only changes in characters are seen through the ever changing distortion of their physical attributes. The story draws you in the more you watch it come to life on screen.

You are a witness to the metamorphous of characters and their beliefs. It is safe to say that Eastwood depicts brilliantly how people and relationships change over a given time.

Just as you think you know what the remainder of the movie will entail, Eastwood throws a surprise “punch” at you. The story takes on an all new life. You are brought from the feeling of control over the movie through the repeated victories to the feeling of no control whatsoever.

All of the cast portray their characters to full capacity. You can almost feel Eastwood’s character’s feeling of confusion and vulnerability. These are feelings the character has acquired after a lifetime of focusing on past choices he made.

You can almost feel Freeman’s character’s enthusiasm, not only for the sport but also for life itself. He had overcome a hardship in the past that destroyed his own fighting career. But he feels so much for the sport, he is more than satisfied with surrounding himself with the sport and with helping boxers of the gym overcome both physical and mental shortcomings.

The determination of Swank’s character flows right into your blood. This is a girl from the worst background imaginable who has the determination to search out and accomplish her life dream. She is a spirited woman whose zest deeply impacts the other characters in this knockout hit.

This is a must see movie; whether you’re a boxing fan or not, this is more than a movie, it is an experience. From the beginning to end the story entraps you. Just when you think the movie is coming to a happy end, there is a surprise twist.

My advice: see the movie and delve yourself into the plot and characters. I guarantee even in the car on the ride home, your mind will still be trapped within the ropes of the boxing ring of “Million Dollar Baby.”

Actors: Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman, Clint Eastwood, Jay Baruchel, Christina Cox. Director: Clint Eastwood. Screenwriter: Paul Haggis.

Rated PG-13, for violence, some disturbing images, thematic material and language. Running time: 2 hours, 12 minutes. Academy Award winner for best picture, best director, actress and supporting actor.