Overall Rating
  Awesome: 67.83%
Worth A Look: 18.99%
Average: 3.88%
Pretty Bad: 6.2%
Total Crap: 3.1%
16 reviews, 162 user ratings
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| Million Dollar Baby |
by Scott Weinberg
"The final conclusive proof of Clint Eastwood's undeniable genius"
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Clint Eastwood's latest masterpiece is not only a smoothly brilliant piece of cinema, but it puts similar films to SHAME. After falling hook, line and sinker for every single frame of "Million Dollar Baby," I was reminded of all the other sports dramas I'd sat through recently. "Against the Ropes"? Ugh. "Radio"? Don't make me laugh! Even the solid examples ("Miracle," for example) are not much more than well-lensed and inspiring artifice. But something like "Million Dollar Baby"? It's not even a SPORTS movie per se, but a heart-wrenching three-person character study that had me bawling like a baby...twice!I've run out of adjectives to describe the eternally effortless coolness of Mr. Clint Eastwood. As an actor, a director, a bona-fide butt-kicking ICON...there are few men who've earned such universal adulation. He's an old-fashioned movie star in an era sadly bereft of truly 'heroic' actors, he's the old-school-style director of consistently fascinating films, and, at 75 years old, he still exudes a screen presence that's nothing short of magnetic. Clearly I have a lot of love and admiration for the man's work, so obviously I'm going to praise his latest to high heaven...right?
Well, no. There's never been a filmmaker who is above criticism, and I may have been the only critic in the universe who thought last year's Mystic River is a tad overrated. But Million Dollar Baby? Whew. It's one of the most addictively engrossing "people dramas" I've seen in the last few years. It works as a rousing sports film, a touching tale of love and friendship, and as a true tearjeaker extraordinaire.
Our (spoiler-free) plot synopsis focuses upon the gruff and grumpy boxing trainer called Frank Dunn. Long estranged from his only daughter, Frank fills his days with boxing gloves, aspiring pugilists, and snippy conversations with his only friend and employee, Eddie Dupris. Frank's life goes from stagnant to miserable after a promising young boxer bails on the aging trainer, and things get even more glum with the arrival of young Maggie Fitzgerald. Frank, you see, has no interest in training a "girl," and he explains this to Maggie in no uncertain terms. Proving to be Frank's equal in outright pigheadedness, Maggie refuses to leave the gym....repeatedly.
That's all you're getting from me, plot-wise. Suffice to say that Eastwood (the director) and Paul Haggis (the screenwriter) deliver their early character development in generous, masterful doses. By the time Million Dollar Baby gets into what we'll call "various plot turns" - you'll be so enamored with these characters you'll be willing to follow them anywhere.
Mr. Eastwood all but guarantees himself a Best Actor nomination with his work here. His Frank Dunn is noble, loyal, stubborn and ocassionally pretty ornery. You'll love him. As Eddie Dupris, Frank's right-hand man and kind-hearted foil, Morgan Freeman delivers his best work since the days of Shawshank. And then there's Hilary Swank, an actress I've always believed to be extremely overrated. Well, here's the performance that's changed my tune forever. On the page, Maggie Fitzgerald could seem like a clueless and desperate little piece of white trash, but Swank infuses the gal with so much heart and earthy character...let's just say she more than holds her own alongside Clint Eastwood - and that's pretty damn impressive."Million Dollar Baby" is one of the only movies this year to truly "hit" me on an emotional level. Every scene, every action and reaction, every performance just reeks of filmmaking care and craftsmanship. It exudes an old-Hollywood classiness and an attention to the finest points of cinematic storytelling. "Million Dollar Baby" is absolutely one of the best films that Clint Eastwood's ever made....and this guy's done a LOT of brilliant flicks.
 del.icio.us 
link directly to this review at http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=11345&reviewer=128
originally posted: 01/03/05 18:19:56
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USA
15-Dec-2004 (PG-13)
DVD: 12-Jul-2005
UK
N/A
Australia
03-Feb-2005
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