‘ The body knows what fighters don’t: how to protect itself…’
A brief warning. If you haven’t seen Clint Eastwood’s 2004 masterpiece Million Dollar Baby, first of all, what’s wrong with you? Secondly, stop reading now. Go watch it. Now that is dealt with, let us continue. Despite the film being an undoubted masterpiece, this was the first time I had returned to it in over a decade. Those who have seen it will know why. It’s an achingly sad movie that wallows in the same basin of sorrow as Requiem for a Dream and Dead Man’s Shoes. As with those films, Million Dollar Baby delivers a third-act gut punch that is genuinely hard to sit through. Still though… what a film this is…
Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) is a cantankerous, elderly boxing trainer who staves off his regrets by giving everything to his fighters. When Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), a determined, aspiring boxer shows up at Frankie’s gym, he eventually and reluctantly agrees to train her (following some persuasion from Eddie (Morgan Freeman) – Frankie’s gym assistant and a former boxer himself).
The first two-thirds of this movie will be familiar to anyone who has ever enjoyed a boxing underdog story. We see Maggie go from clueless rookie to powerful winner culminating in her title shot. Despite its familiarity, this part of the movie is still sensational. Freeman, Eastwood and Swank were all Oscar-nominated for their respective performances (only the latter won) and each of them truly embodies their very disparate characters. This is partly down to Paul Haggis’ excellent screenplay and partly down to the undoubted ability of the actors themselves. The film is beautifully shot, with each character emerging from shadow as if trying to fend off the pervading darkness that engulfs them and the score (written by Eastwood himself) is a surprisingly delicate and tender thing. It is the film’s infamous third act, however, in which Million Dollar Baby cements itself as a masterpiece. The final scenes between Eastwood and Swank are heart-wrenching and the film deals with grief and regret in a way that never threatens to become too sentimental or saccharine. A word too for the supporting cast with Jay Baruchel and Anthony Mackie still managing to leave a mark despite the dominant performance of the three primary leads.
Million Dollar Baby celebrated its 20-year anniversary in 2024 and in that time it has lost none of its visceral power – a timeless classic.
