DVD: Million Dollar Baby
Million Dollar Baby won four of the major Academy Awards this year, and it deserved all of them. I've seen all of the nominees for Best Picture other than Sideways, but I think it's a safe bet that a movie about wine tasting and male bonding isn't going to sway my opinion. As for acting and directing, I haven't seen every nominee, but I can't imagine anyone turning in better performances in their categories than Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman, and Clint Eastwood as a director.
Eastwood plays Frankie Dunn, an excellent cutman that doubles as a trainer and manager. He's been more successful as a cutman than as anything else, and that's mostly because of his cautious style of managing. Obviously, in a sport as cutthroat as boxing, that style doesn't sit well with a fighter looking for the big payday. Such is the case early in the movie with the fighter that Dunn manages. As he loses this fighter, he sours more than he already had on the managing/training side of the sport.
In the meantime, he owns a gym called the Hit Pit, where the kindly former boxer Eddie Dupris (Morgan Freeman) works. Freeman also narrates the film, and I've found that any film Morgan Freeman narrates is worth my time.
Enter Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), a 31-year old aspiring boxer who wants Dunn to train her. Dunn "doesn't train girls".
As the plot unfolds, we see these characters develop and interact with each other in a way that seems genuine. We learn about their backgrounds, and see what makes them who they are. Eastwood's direction is brilliant, using light and shadow flawlessly to help enhance scenes and tell the story.
Hilary Swank is wonderful as Maggie, the girl from the deep South who wasn't supposed to amount to anything. She makes her character sympathetic and yet someone who doesn't want to be pitied. And of course Morgan Freeman turns in another awesome performance as "Scrap Iron" Dupris, the scarred old fighter who could still scrap today if given the opportunity. Clint Eastwood is no slouch himself, giving his best performance in recent memory. He may be a bit overshadowed by his co-stars, but he is excellent nonetheless.
There was one element of the movie that I wasn't ready for, but I won't give that away here. Though it nagged at me at first, this element was part of what made this such a great movie. Where it could have become one-dimensional, the film goes in a direction that one doesn't see coming, and that's refreshing.
As close as this movie comes to perfection, though, there was one flaw that did bother me. Again, to go into detail would be to spoil, but it seemed to me that most people who have seen a moderate amount of boxing would pick this up. It was a small bit of sloppiness in an otherwise very well put together movie. All in all, this one is well worth your time, and is one that I won't soon forget.
Final Score: 4.5 cents
Eastwood plays Frankie Dunn, an excellent cutman that doubles as a trainer and manager. He's been more successful as a cutman than as anything else, and that's mostly because of his cautious style of managing. Obviously, in a sport as cutthroat as boxing, that style doesn't sit well with a fighter looking for the big payday. Such is the case early in the movie with the fighter that Dunn manages. As he loses this fighter, he sours more than he already had on the managing/training side of the sport.
In the meantime, he owns a gym called the Hit Pit, where the kindly former boxer Eddie Dupris (Morgan Freeman) works. Freeman also narrates the film, and I've found that any film Morgan Freeman narrates is worth my time.
Enter Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), a 31-year old aspiring boxer who wants Dunn to train her. Dunn "doesn't train girls".
As the plot unfolds, we see these characters develop and interact with each other in a way that seems genuine. We learn about their backgrounds, and see what makes them who they are. Eastwood's direction is brilliant, using light and shadow flawlessly to help enhance scenes and tell the story.
Hilary Swank is wonderful as Maggie, the girl from the deep South who wasn't supposed to amount to anything. She makes her character sympathetic and yet someone who doesn't want to be pitied. And of course Morgan Freeman turns in another awesome performance as "Scrap Iron" Dupris, the scarred old fighter who could still scrap today if given the opportunity. Clint Eastwood is no slouch himself, giving his best performance in recent memory. He may be a bit overshadowed by his co-stars, but he is excellent nonetheless.
There was one element of the movie that I wasn't ready for, but I won't give that away here. Though it nagged at me at first, this element was part of what made this such a great movie. Where it could have become one-dimensional, the film goes in a direction that one doesn't see coming, and that's refreshing.
As close as this movie comes to perfection, though, there was one flaw that did bother me. Again, to go into detail would be to spoil, but it seemed to me that most people who have seen a moderate amount of boxing would pick this up. It was a small bit of sloppiness in an otherwise very well put together movie. All in all, this one is well worth your time, and is one that I won't soon forget.
Final Score: 4.5 cents
Tha Docta's two cents. | 12:00 AM
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