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Million Dollar Baby

Posted by: Luna on Friday, January 21st, 2005


Truly one of the best films of 2004. This film, which was directed by Clint Eastwood, is truly a masterpiece with a powerful and emotional story, a wonderful script, and a brilliant cast consisting of Eastwood himself, Morgan Freeman, and Hilary Swank. Eastwood plays Frankie Dunn, a boxing trainer who has trained and managed many incredible boxers during his lifetime. The most important lesson he always teaches his boxers is to always protect themselves. Morgan Freeman plays Scrap, Frankie’s only friend, a beaten ex-boxer who runs Frankie’s gym. Hilary Swank turns in another terrific performance (since Boys Don’t Cry) as Maggie Fitzgerald, an ambitious woman with fierce determination and incredible will to become a professional boxer. More than anything, she wants someone to believe in her.
* Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) grudgingly agrees to train Maggie.	* More than anything, Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) wants to be a professional boxer.

* Scrap (Morgan Freeman), Frankie’s only friend, runs the gym.	* Scrap tells Maggie about how Frankie still blames himself for him losing his eye years ago.
Due to a painful estrangement from his daughter, Frankie has been afraid and unwilling to let anyone get close to him for a long time. He had been attending mass almost everyday for the past 23 years, seeking forgiveness for the sins that had been haunting him for a long time. When Maggie walks into the gym, she asks Frankie to be her trainer, but he refuses. He bluntly tells her the truth: he doesn’t train girls and she’s too old. Encouraged by Scrap and unwilling to give up on her dream, Maggie works out for hours at the gym while also waitressing on the side to save up money. Finally won over by Maggie’s determination and persistence, Frankie agrees to train her.
* Maggie training hard even throughout the night.
Frankie and Maggie soon bond and find in each other the sense of family they both lost long ago. Little do they know, something will happen that neither could have anticipated and both will have to find the heart and courage to deal…
* Scrap and Frankie share a little argument over Maggie. Frankie wants her to leave the gym, Scrap thinks he should give her a chance.

* Maggie saves up her money made from her waitress job. She grabs leftovers from her job to take home.	* Frankie gives Maggie a gift to prepare her for the final battle showdown.

* Kudos to Clint Eastwood for making such a great film! I hope he continues to make more films like these.
Highlight(s) of the movie: Everything!

Starring: Clint Eastwood (Frankie Dunn), Hilary Swank (Maggie Fitzgerald), Morgan Freeman (Eddie ‘Scrap-Iron’ Dupris), Jay Baruchel (Danger Barch)

Frankie finally agrees to let Maggie fight in the title championship battle against the East German champion girl (the one who fights dirty). After the second round, Maggie gets sucker-punched by her opponent while she isn’t looking and ends up falling and hitting her head on the stool in her corner. She becomes paralyzed from the neck down and is unable to breathe on her own. Frankie takes her to a rehabilitation centre to recover. Due to her immobility, her left leg gets gangrene and has to be amputated. Maggie’s family comes to visit her, but with an ulterior motive. They had brought a businessman along with some papers for her to sign, hoping she would sign over all her assets to them. Maggie refuses to sign, tells her mother off and orders her family to leave her alone. Frankie continues to stay by her side, caring for her. Maggie finally asks him to help her die, saying that she can’t live like this. Frankie refuses. She tries to committ suicide twice by biting through her tongue, hoping to bleed to death. The doctors stop her from doing it again by sedating her. Frankie is torn between wanting to give her peace and wanting to keep her with him. He talks to the priest (who is against assisting a suicide) and decides he wants to help Maggie. He has a talk with Scrap who insists that it wasn’t his fault that Maggie got injured, and he believes she would die happy knowing she got her shot and did alright. Frankie walks into Maggie’s room, gives her a kiss, and tells her the nickname he gave her means “my darling, my blood”. She smiles at him gratefully. He removes the oxygen tube from her neck, gives her a shot of adrenaline, watches as she dies peacefully, and walks away. Scrap writes a letter to Frankie’s daughter telling her the kind of man her father is, hoping she’ll read this letter instead of returning it unopened. Frankie never returns to the gym, Scrap never sees him again. Closing scene shows Frankie at the diner where he and Maggie once had pie at.

Personal comments about this movie?
Ah, filmmaking at its finest. A brilliant film directed by the talented Clint Eastwood with an equally brilliant cast: Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and Hilary Swank. I was so blown away by the powerful story, the emotional ending, the script, the acting, etc. There is no way you can watch this film without being moved by it in some way. The twist at the end was so ironic because it was so unexpected. I’m glad the ending was handled tastefully because it’s such a controversial issue. It really does makes you think of all the decisions you’ve made in your life and how you’ve dealt with the consequences. All of the lead actors were outstanding in their roles and were able to hold their own onscreen. Swank was absolutely terrific as Maggie, the ambitious woman who doesn’t give up her dream of being a professional boxer. Her face was so expressive, you actually believe she IS Maggie. Not since Boys Don’t Cry has she played a character with such intensity and passion. Freeman was wonderful as Scrap, a beaten man who could’ve been more than what he became. Even though he had a smaller part in the film, he is still able to command a presence onscreen that makes you want to watch him. Eastwood was amazing as Frankie as he disappeared into the role and played him with such pain and remorse that we all immediately sympathized with him. To say this was a great film is an understatement. This is a masterpiece! I hope it gets all the recognition it deserves (Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Picture). For those of you who haven’t seen this movie, I’d suggest you go see it.

Want to know more?
Read more about this film at The Internet Movie Database.
Don’t forget to Check out the official site OR Watch the trailer!