‘Baby’ Packs An Even Stronger Punch Than

Previous Film Directed By Eastwood

Can it be possible for an artist to reach his/her creative peak in their seventies? That seems to be the case with Clint Eastwood, who just walked away with his second Academy Award for Best Director for Million Dollar Baby, which is  still in the top ten in theaters across the country. This award-winning film, which also garnered Oscars for Best Actress (Hilary Swank), Best Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman), and Best Picture, is also still among the top-ten most popular movies at the box office.

Based on Rope Burns, a series of boxing stories by F.X. Toole, Million Dollar Baby follows the journey of Maggie Fitzgerald (Swank), a determined, thirty-something waitress from Missouri who dreams of becoming a professional boxer and believes the only person who can help her realize that dream is Frankie Dunn (Eastwood), a grizzled veteran of the sport who now runs a gym in Los Angeles.

Of course, Dunn wants nothing to do with her, and Maggie must persist in trying to gain both his boxing knowledge and his personal confidence. Also key to the tale is Dunn’s right-hand man, “Scrap” (Freeman), a former fighter who now maintains Dunn’s gym and also serves as the narrator of the story. Just as Scrap’s warming to Maggie cracks open the door to winning Dunn’s aid, Freeman’s wonderfully warm characterization quickly endears us to this film and provides the poetic heart to this earnest tale.

Eastwood, who also wrote the moving, piano-based score to the film, not only gives the strongest performance of his acting career, but also veers into some new territory, visually, with this film. Normally a very sparse director, dealing with very cut-and-dried tones and emotions, Eastwood colors this film with some very interesting visual motifs (keep an eye on his use of shadows and lighting), as well as an interesting mix of character chemistry. For instance, his on-screen banter with Freeman (the two are reunited for the first time since 1992’s Unforgiven and their comfort with each other shows) sparkles with assurance and ease, whereas the combination of Eastwood and Swank (an Oscar winner for Boys Don’t Cry, she pulls off another triumphant transformation here as a scrappy pugilist), which appropriately begins very curtly due to Dunn’s dismissiveness, is cultivated over the course of the movie and we the audience become privy to the development of this unlikely pair and nurture a rooting interest in them both as individuals and as a boxing team.

Million Dollar Baby comes on the heels of Eastwood’s acclaimed, 2003 Oscar-nominated film, Mystic River, which at the time was considered one of his finest efforts. But Million Dollar Baby packs an even stronger, more lasting emotional punch than that more harsh film. Whereas Mystic River deals with some very dark, disturbing subjects (murder, abuse, loss of one’s child), Million Dollar Baby, which itself doesn’t shy away from some difficult themes, has the advantage of some very endearing, affecting characters that make us want to take this full journey with them.

Million Dollar Baby is rated PG-13 for violence, some disturbing images, thematic material and language. If you’re looking for a simple, Rocky-style, feel-good film, this may not be exactly what you expect, but it is an affecting film that is sure to leave you emotionally spent but with much to discuss and ponder.