ARTSETC.
Eastwood nurses remarkable ‘Baby’
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by Sara Griffin
Tuesday, February 8, 2005
Tough isn’t enough for Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank). She longs to be a champion women’s boxer, and she wants Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) to train her to get there. Frankie, hard and stubborn after years of disappointment, slowly warms to training her. The two broken characters are struggling to find some purpose and healing. If you think this is just another boxing movie, think again.
Frankie is a talented boxing trainer, yet he refuses to take his leading fighter, Big Willie Little, to the title. Little moves onto a more aggressive trainer, leaving Frankie alone in his rundown gym in downtown Los Angeles. A devout Catholic, Frankie attends mass every day and has done so for more than 20 years Haunted by a past he cannot undo and unable to forgive himself for his poor relationship with his daughter, he turns to spirituality and ritual to find some sense of solace. But solace is hard to grasp. The letters he sends to his daughter return, week after week, marked “return to sender.” Even his parish priest cannot offer any advice.
Maggie’s background is just as difficult. She comes from a dysfunctional family: her father is dead, her brother is a convict, and her mother and sister lie to the government to collect welfare. Maggie moves to Los Angeles to make more of her life. She scrapes by as a waitress at a local diner, saving leftover food from her customer’s plates to reheat for herself later. After watching a boxing match with Big Willie, she approaches Frankie about training her. But he refuses, stating that he simply will not train girls, especially a 31-year-old. She begins to practice at the gym every day, sometimes into the night hours.
Frankie’s only friend Eddie “Scrap-Iron” Dupris (Morgan Freeman) lives in the gym, keeping the place running and in good shape. He discovers Maggie training and begins to offer advice on technique. When Scrap approaches Frankie about training Maggie, he finally relents, and the combined persistence of the two older men molds the 31-year-old into a champion.
“Million Dollar Baby” is a spectacular follow up to Clint Eastwood’s last masterpiece “Mystic River.” His directing is superb, giving every scene, line and shot a purpose. The shadowy lighting provides the perfect, simple backdrop for the film. There are no superficial distractions or special effects, just three exceptional performances from three outstanding actors. Every inch of Hilary Swank is Maggie Fitzgerald, from her thick southwest Missouri accent to infectious smile. She becomes the daughter Frankie longs to have, and he is the father she deeply misses. Scrap serves as Frankie’s support, keeping his gym clean and morale high. His narration guides the film, keeping the audience in touch with both plot and the intense emotional turmoil the characters encounter.
While the plot takes a cue from boxing, Million Dollar Baby hardly falls into the role of sports movie. Instead it pushes forward, looking at personal struggle and the drive to succeed. It follows Maggie Fitzgerald, boxer and human soul, driving to find accomplishment. As the plaque that hangs next to punching bag in Frankie’s gym says, “Winners are simply willing to do what losers won’t.” Maggie is willing to do whatever it takes to prove to herself that she can be whatever she wants to be. The movie does what other movies won’t — inspire the audience that views it.
Anonymous (March 2, 2005 @ 11:46am):
I am trying to find out if this Maggie Fitzgerald is a true character, or fiction? My friends says Million Dollar baby is based on a true story! Is it??? PLease post reply.
