I enjoyed Clint Eastwood's fable, but had some reservations

Rating: 7/10 (4 February 2005)

Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" is a film not so much about boxing but one about a boxer. Hilary Swank plays Maggie, an inept fighter with a lot of heart and ambition, but her gender leaves her at a training disadvantage. This fact is most true with Frankie, played with a crusty soulful mourn by director Clint Eastwood. He will not train a girl, never has and never will. The movie never makes it completely clear why Maggie has chosen Frankie, but that seems beside the point.
There is a lot of boxing in "Million Dollar Baby." More so than in "Girlfight," "Raging Bull," or possibly even the "Rocky" films. I have never been a boxing fan and did not start while viewing this film. Though the sport disinterests me, the rise of Maggie's abilities struck as impressive. She comes from a small town but travels to Frankie's gym to strike it big.
Frankie, an ex-fighter much closer to the end of his training career than the beginning, cannot bring himself to take a stab at a high-profile duel even with his most talented fighter. When he leaves Frankie for greener pastures, Frankie decides then to take on the girl who cannot hit the punching bag correctly and doesn't have enough money to spend on a speed bag.
The film's narration is threaded by the great, vital voice of Morgan Freeman, who helps out and lives in Frankie's gym. It is he, an ex-boxer as well, who first sees Maggie's raw talent and heart. That is the stem to this flower, how it blooms is up to the viewer to experience on their own unmolested by the words on this page.
. The almost unanimous love "Million Dollar Baby" has appreciated from critics leaves me wondering a few things. Paul Haggis' script follows many of the same routes accessed by films of the past. Frankie and Maggie's relationship follows a well documented formula; Freeman's narration is well sounding but its service as a crutch to move the story along is apparent early on; the film's final third, which houses its most brilliant scenes, ignores the stories it nourished before. Freeman all but disappears and an odd sub-plot involving a scrawny boxer in Frankie's gym is underdeveloped and is never as satisfying as the filmmakers wish.
The acting is superb, especially noting Hilary Swank who has reprised her role as an actress who shines after appearing from nowhere. She gained this accolade after winning an Oscar for her heart-breaking role in "Boys Don't Cry." Clint Eastwood has improved with age and abandons much of his stoic image that has aided him in the past. Morgan Freeman is fine, but his role isn't as fleshed out as I would like and we have seen him much better in the past, including his previous pairing with Eastwood in "Unforgiven."
I seem apologetic to inform the reader that I liked Eastwood's film but did not love it. After all of the awards and critical acclaim, I cannot honestly jump up and down for "M$B," as some have lovingly nicknamed it. My happiest moment was falling back in love with Hilary Swank, taking on another role not for the standard pretty Hollywood actress. Let us pray she never becomes one. *** out of ****