Clint Eastwood ought to be lounging in Boca Raton, enjoying a well-deserved rest after thirty years of filmmaking and fifty years of acting in some of Hollywood’s most critical and crowd pleasing hits. Instead, at the tender age of 74 he’s directing, producing, scoring, and starring in a humble $30 million boxing drama that manages to capture seven Oscar nominations, four Oscar wins including Best Directing and Picture of the Year, and a host of other film accolades including two Golden Globe wins. Although the film isn’t perfect, much of the praise is well deserved for Million Dollar Baby is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale climate of insipid film and television remakes and overblown effects movies.
Million Dollar Baby is based on a short story found in a collection entitled Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner that’s written by F.X. Toole, a pen name for a former boxing trainer named Jerry Boyd (1930-2002). It’s a very human drama with multi-layered characters that addresses one woman’s single-minded drive to become a prize fighter despite her humble origins. Eastwood casts himself as aging boxing trainer Frankie Dunn, who runs a gym with one of his former fighters, Eddie ‘Scrap-Iron’ Dupris (Morgan Freeman). Both have their own sorrows. Dupris lost an eye in a career-ending fight and Dunn still blames himself, while also struggling with having lost touch with his daughter. Just as Dunn loses his latest fighter to another manager, a woman doggedly working out in the gym comes to his attention. Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) is a poor waitress coming from essentially a white trash family, who is determined to be a boxer and just as determined to have Dunn as her trainer. Although initially reluctant to take on a female fighter, Dunn eventually gives in. At 31, Fitzgerald is seemingly too old to begin a boxing career and too green. But through focused determination and Dunn’s fatherly guidance, she rises to the top of the woman’s boxing circuit. They develop a close bond forged from their love of boxing and their individual strained family relations before tragedy strikes, causing both to make painful decisions.
As a “martial arts” drama, the film contains some obvious similarities to the typical Eastern martial arts movie. Swank is basically the down and out scrapper with dreams of mastering the art of boxing, who must convince a “master” (Eastwood) that she is worthy of being taken on as his student. Although Freeman’s character has a hand in the fateful decision, it is really her own determination that wins him over. Training sequences follow in a montage format. Just like kung fu, boxing begins with fundamental footwork and works up to endurance and proper forms training. Eastwood doesn’t spend too much time on this, but enough for us to get an appreciation for Swank’s development from a wannabe to a winner.
It’s interesting to note that Oscar-winning actress Hillary Swank got her first theatrical break in The Next Karate Kid (1994). She’s not only a very capable actress able to take on very challenging roles as seen in Boys Don’t Cry, but just as capable of tackling the challenges of demanding athletic roles. In fact, it’s hard to imagine any other Hollywood actress in this particular role. With a background similar to her character and the ability to perform the demanding fight choreography, Swank is quite convincing.
The boxing is handled in a realistic and non-glorified manner. Eastwood is a master behind the screen, who works with lighting, angles and cuts with a subtle touch. Swank’s opponents in the ring are real-life female boxers, which add even more realism. This includes world-champion kickboxer and welterweight boxing champion Lucia Rijker, who plays Billie ‘The Blue Bear,’ a champion fighter known for using dirty tricks. Eastwood literally focuses in on the facial cuts and bone breaks suffered by the fighters, thus bringing the viewer uncomfortably close to the pain they endure. But in a way, Maggie’s rise seems too effortless initially. But this serves a distinct purpose later on when events take a dramatic and unexpected turn, much like life.
Eastwood gives a solid performance onscreen and proves that he’s still a powerful presence. Morgan Freeman is decent, but hardly award-worthy. He continues his trend of being a reactive performer, which means that his character is too low key. A lack of subtly or depth to his character is matched by Freeman’s acting and lessens his presence. Then there is Danger Barch, as played by Jay Baruchel. This is the film’s cliched Achilles Heel. Danger is this Forest Gump-like character with no chance at being a fighter, but full of clueless enthusiasm and described as being all heart. He hangs around the gym with the understanding Dupris and other less-forgiving fighters, who harass the poor oaf. While having a side story to balance out the main drama is acceptable, this one isn’t convincingly played out or necessary.
Aside from the simpleton subplot, Million Dollar Baby is an excellent boxing drama that’s well made and well acted, especially where Hilary Swank is concerned. The fact that it depicts the world of female boxing makes it even more intriguing. The script is nicely structured to incorporate a few dramatic twists and turns to keep audiences on their toes. It isn’t outstanding, however, and I believe its phenomenal critical success is more likely the result of Hollywood trends where films lacking in subtlety and meaty, character-driven plots are dominating the box office. In this sense, it’s not hard to see why critics and award committees starving for anything of substance and artistic value would latch onto this film with such vigor, especially when considering Clint Eastwood’s place as one of Hollywood’s most respected filmmakers. Even so, more films like this from Eastwood would be just fine.
by Mark PollardRelated Topics:
Boxing • Million Dollar Baby (2004)
