Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Million Dollar Baby (2004)

10/10

Starring

Clint Eastwood

Hilary Swank

Morgan Freeman

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Clearing the best picture award in the 77th Academy Award is a film that makes you smile and cry at the same time. The movie’s twist ending is what makes it a grand slam and Hilary Swank, finally after a long time, pulled out a role that can be said to match the one she performed in the 1999 drama Boys Don’t Cry. She also won an Academy Award for best actress twice, one for Boys Don’t Cry in 1999 and the other for her role here in Million Dollar Baby.

The movie is about a boxing trainer Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood), who helped an underdog amateur boxer Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) achieve her dream. Frankie only decided to help Maggie when she persisted to keep training at his gym till Dunn finally deciding to help her to become a professional boxer.

All with the aim that when she is up on her feet he will give her up to another manager, during training Dunn always tells Maggie to defend herself at all times.

Morgan Freeman’s inclusion in this movie is one that makes you know that a film with this guy as your supporting actor is going to be a hit. Freeman managed to shine behind the huge shadow of Clint Eastwood, and he delivered my favourite scene in the movie, where his character Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris, an elderly former boxer and Frankie Dunn's (Clint Eastwood) partner, who is blind in one eye went into the ring to take on a younger boxer who had just bullied and knocked the wind out of an autistic young man.

Dupris steps in the ring and squares out with the younger boxer, who was hesitant at first to go toe to toe with an old man, but later decided to square it out. After he (the younger boxer) has given the one eyed blind Dupris enough jabs in the face, Dupris landed only one punch and well, the younger boxer learnt a lesson he will never forget.

The movie does have its controversy, as the trailers makes you think this is a movie about a fighter who managed to conquer some fits to become great, when actually it is a tragedy waiting to happen. The movie’s ending too is not without its nay-sayers, who feel the ending was just too sad, and it mocked and gave the wrong idea for what to do about your disability.

Whether you get all depressed although the movie or you applaud the great movie for its insightful portrayal on female boxing, or maybe you are like me who just love a good movie and give it is due credit…, one thing is, you have to see Million dollar baby yourself to come to a better conclusion.