Well acted, finely directed. But...

Rating: 7/10 (2 March 2005)

This movie starts just as if it were a new sequel of the Karate Kid saga (has this something to do with Swank acting in Karate Kid IV?)... how many times have we seen the lonely and tough hero desperately trying to work her/his way out of the mud thanks to sport competition? How many wise life-beaten trainers have we already seen? And of course all of them have to have their hidden past, which they try uselessly to forget and redeem. Which past is always condensed in one single epiphany, in perfect Hollywood style. Here poor Clint-Frankie is haunted by that last fight of his friend's: Clint was incapable of forcing him to give up. His friend Freeman-Scrap lost an eye for that.
Nevertheless Scrap's presence is a clear break of the scheme "old trainer and young guy manage to overcome difficulties and win the championship". Scrap is a sort of wise double of Frankie, himself having something to regret in his past (he has something of a personal redemption when he knocks down a young smart ass at the gym).
And, naturally, the movie eventually comes out of the cliché when we see that there is no final win. A more tragic ending could not have been devised. Giving no happy ending is supremely honest and makes the movie absolutely bearable. But maybe nobody deserved such a tragic finale. What of poor Frankie Dunn? He does not manage to reestablish any kind of contact with his daughter, loses his adoptive one, and is even obliged to kill her! Even his religious ethics is thus ruined. I do not feel better because of this terrible ending. Did we need it other than for weeping a bit before the credits? Or for giving our vote, if we are incidentally members of the Academy? Luckily, some gags are sprinkled over the story, which make the whole thing better. The character of Danger is very funny and a definite relief for the audience.
Well, anyway the movie is splendidly directed and acted. This is the very best about it. Mighty performances by Eastwood (both as actor and director), Freeman and Swank. Technically Million Dollar Baby is almost perfect (take production designing for example). Another thing I liked is the chilling portrait of Maggie's family, unfortunately much too credible.
Moreover Million Dollar Baby is obviously remarkable, and it would be so even if it had been a total failure, for being the first great film about a woman boxer. As a she-Rocky, Maggie is no stereotype. The fight and training scenes anyway are not convincing, Swank moves in a strange way, even if she seems to punch real hard.
All in all the movie is good. Technically it is excellent. It is even honest in that it tries occasionally to escape easy solutions. But it definitely lacks originality.
No doubt, The Aviator was better.