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January 18, 2005
Million Dollar Baby
Don't go into Million Dollar Baby with expectations of seeing a Rocky of the 21st century, or you're going to be thrown a curve ball that might knock you over. At least, it knocked me over, and I had to seriously rethink the film from start to finish. I'm going to do my best not to give away any secrets about the film, and if you want to hear any of my further specific opinions, ask me in comments.
The main problem is that the film is deceptive about whose story the film is. Is it Rocky's? Or his trainer's? If you are taken into thinking it is Hillary Swank's character, like me (and perhaps this is intended), you have to completely redefine how you've been looking at the film about halfway through. Because ultimately, it's about the trainer played by Clint Eastwood, Frank.
Frank is a trainer who has a daughter that never returns his letters, and a few skeletons in his closet we later learn about. So when southern girl Hillary Swank shows up asking for him to take her on, he turns her down. She persists however, because she doesn't have much else - a shitty job, a family that doesn't love her, and an empty apartment to go home to. Frank works at a local boxing gym with his partner Morgan Freeman, who he once managed ages ago. Together, they begin to teach her, and she starts to get good. She gets bigger and bigger until, of course, the big fight.
Clint Eastwood is a fabulous director, and I really really respect the fact that he didn't just take his cowboy earnings and disappear from the film world. I consider Mystic River to be one of the best films of last year, and this was quite good. But there are two things to keep in mind with Eastwood: 1) he's dark as all hell, and 2) he's going to throw a curve ball at some point and really fuck with your expectations. Fabulous stuff, and I hope he lives long enough to get another few movies out.
The writing was excellent for the film, though I will say that the last 30 minutes of the film were unnecessarily long. I don't mean long as in boring, just too much pounding of the same thing into you. You'll get it when you see it. The characters were well written, as was the dialogue, story, and structure - and while it didn't stray far from the cliche we all have in our minds of a boxing movie, or reinvent it in any way, it still presented it in a fresh light. It really was a great experience to see a gritty darkly lit film take a fairly optimistic outlook on some subject. The background characters are also really well written, and a subplot involving a mentally deficient wannabe boxer named Dynamite has an absolutely wonderful finale. I mean really, really great stuff.
The acting was great as well. Hillary Swank shines as Maggie the boxer, and she just might win the Oscar this year for best actress. Eastwood was good in his role, but he's just being himself, so I don't predict any awards. Lots of good humor though, especially in his relationship with Morgan Freeman. The background characters are all excellent unknown finds, and I have to say that the casting on this film was top notch. The priest, Maggie's family, and the other boxers at the gym are fantastic.
The cinemtography is beautiful as well, with a lot of the same shadowy darkness as Mystic River. One particularly wonderful shot is when Frank is driving with Maggie in the car, and the light just barely lets us know that he's present. Yeah, Eastwood's world really is one of shadows and darkness, and I'm sure someone has a book or two coming on the subject.
I recommend that you see this movie. When I first came out of it, I was mad because it wasn't the movie I expected. But it's kept me thinking constantly about it ever since, and that's generally (not always) a good sign for any film.
Also, having seen it right after Kinsey, it proves that fictional characters can often carry so much more inspiration for fictional deeds than dramatized reality can.
3.5 stars / 4 stars
Posted by nick at January 18, 2005 01:03 AM