Clint Eastwood is a national treasure

Rating: 7/10 (16 February 2005)

At first glance, "Million Dollar Baby" seems like it should be pedestrian fare. An aging boxing trainer and his old sidekick take in a poor white girl who dreams of becoming a champ and, together, they work to get to the top. It's the sort of pulpy stuff the likes of Jim Thompson and Charles Willeford might have reveled in.
So why does "Million Dollar Baby" work? One reason: Clint Eastwood.
At 75, Eastwood might very well be the best American filmmaker working today. A true auteur, it's evident of his amazing talent that he's taken a generally conventional story and turned it into a rich, deep, insightful character study.
As for conservatives enraged by the film: Get real. They're all for promoting free thought and expression so long as it doesn't differ from what they believe, their worldview. "Million Dollar Baby" is a movie. What the characters do, the decisions they make fit with what makes the story work.
There's no great conspiracy or agenda at work. It's good storytelling and conservative hosts should worry more about having an administration that fabricates evidence and seems quite keen on stifling due process and expression in the name of security. Now, that's a frightening agenda.
What propels "Million Dollar Baby" are three spectacular performances. Hilary Swank, as the young wannabe champ Maggie Fitzgerald, proves beyond any doubt that her Best Actress Oscar for "Boys Don't Cry" (1999) was no fluke. She imbues Maggie with grit, determination and courage; and when the story requires her to change focus, she makes Maggie vulnerable without ever making her weak. After watching Swank in this film, you'll understand why she's winning all the awards for her performance.
Eastwood as the trainer Frankie Dunn and Morgan Freeman as his assistant Eddie Dupris rarely have been better. Not only is he a great filmmaker, Eastwood's also turned into a fine actor. Frankie, like many of Eastwood characters, is a man of few words. He struggles with his own dilemmas and remains emotionally distant. Yet, there's real depth of feeling in Eastwood's portrayal. He conveys more genuine emotion with his craggy, weathered face than most actors can with superb dialogue and Actor's Studio training.
Watching Eastwood and Freeman work together is a treat. There's tremendous chemistry between them. They play off each other with supreme ease like an old couple very familiar with each other's idiosyncrasies. They're good friends, old pros whose riffs go down smoothly like a glass of great scotch.
Despite directing many films, Eastwood always was known primarily as an actor. But in the last several years, he has emerged as one of America's great filmmakers with work such as "Unforgiven" (1992) and "Mystic River" (2003). Heck, Eastwood even turned that horrible novel, "The Bridges of Madison County," into a good film in 1995.
True, "Million Dollar Baby" works with numerous cinematic clichés. But Eastwood still creates visual poetry, from his choice of camera angles to eliciting tender, effective and moving performances, from his superb use of his own musical score to creating the perfect mood.
The film's flaw perhaps is the over-use of Freeman's voice-over narration. Telling an audience what to think, how to feel, the real emotion of a particular moment are something the actors must convey through their performances; Eastwood and screenwriter Paul Haggis shouldn't have to rely on narration. Narration is an easy way for screenwriters to cheat and, more often than not, I got the feeling that's exactly what Haggis was doing.
Freeman's voice isn't the issue here. That's amazing. But, at times, his narration is obtrusive. The reason for the narration's made clear at the end, but I wish Eastwood had limited its use, that he'd used it as cleverly as he did his music.
Nevertheless, "Million Dollar Baby" remains touching, funny, poignant, powerful. It's a superbly acted film made by a master craftsman.