"Million Dollar Baby" is a champion at the box office!!!

Rating: 10/10 (16 February 2006)

Veteran Hollywood actor & director Clint Eastwood triumphs with this wonderfully made dramatic masterpiece. Superbly cast with Hilary Swank(Boys Don't Cry) & Morgan Freeman(The Shawshank Redemption) who live & breathe Oscar-winning performances every role they step into on a movie set. A winning role for Eastwood as well, befitting his age & acting prowess. A great uplifting story coupled with learned script writing, superior direction, & an in shape Swank who trained for months to get in fine shape for the role of a boxer.
"Million Dollar Baby" is the story of the professional & personal relationships between female boxer wannabe & waitress Maggie Fitzgerald, trainer Frankie Dunn, & retired boxer & friend Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris. It is how they come together & relate to one another that makes film work so well. Aging & standoffish cut man & boxing trainer Dunn(Eastwood) owns & runs a local gym with the help of sentimental & wise ex-boxer & friend Dupris(Freeman). Their lives change greatly when hardworking & idealistic female boxer Fitzgerald(Swank) comes into the male dominated gym to seek a trainer. Working as a waitress by day & female boxing hopeful at night, Fitzgerald works at her craft while others poke fun. Fitzgerald realizes that if with hard work & the right manager, she could fight as a pro even at thirty-something. Dunn tolerates her existence but refuses to train her. With persistence & Dupris' influence, Dunn decides to take Fitzgerald on as a pupil. Slowly but steadily, Dunn trains Fitzgerald in the sweet science of boxing. Dunn warns Fitzgerald of possibility of getting hurt or not making it professionally. Ever determined, Fitzgerald pushes on with Dunn with training. After a year of training, Fitzgerald begs Dunn to manage her in the pros. Dunn declines & gets Fitzgerald a manager instead. At Fitzgerald's first fight, both Dunn & Dupris attend. After Fitzgerald takes a beating in the first few rounds & her manager loses patience, Dunn steps in to take over as manager. Dunn gives her a few tips & Fitzgerald goes on to score a knockout. This is just the beginning of Fitzgerald's knockout streak. Bout after bout, Fitzgerald knocks out all of her opponents, to Dunn's ire. With all her victories, Dunn has trouble finding fighters for Fitzgerald to pummel. So, Dunn & Fitzgerald travel abroad to find bouts. With success in the ring came financial gains for Fitzgerald. With her new found wealth, Fitzgerald buys a new home for an ungrateful & trashy mother & siblings in her home town. Although disappointed with her family's reaction, Fitzgerald presses on with her boxing career with Dunn. Dunn negotiates with manager of Billie "Blue Bear"(real life women's European champ Lucia Rijker), a vicious & dirty female World Champion for a championship bout. Both sides agree & head out to Las Vegas for the big fight. During the fight, Fitzgerald handles herself fairly well despite Billie "Blue Bear's" dirty fight tactics. Dunn coaches Fitzgerald well & tends adequately to her cut left eye. Fitzgerald begins to win the fight when she makes a grave mistake...she turns her back on her opponent at the end of the round. The mean spirited Billie "Blue Bear" punches Fitzgerald on the side of her head causing Fitzgerald to fall into the stool in her corner. Rushed to the hospital, Fitzgerald suffers paralysis & has a tracheotomy to help her breathe. Dunn is tragically distraught over Fitzgerald's condition, blaming Dupris and/or himself. Dunn does everything humanly possible to help his fallen fighter including moving her back to Florida & tending to her daily. Fitzgerald suffers another blow in her family's scheme to extort money from her during a long awaited visit. Furious, Fitzgerald tells off her family & lawyer & never wants to see them again. Bad luck continues for Fitzgerald when a blood clot forces her leg to be amputated. Weak & wanting relief from her life of misery, Fitzgerald asks Dunn to end her suffering. Dunn answers no but is torn between what he believes is morally wrong & fulfilling Fitzgerald's wish to be free from her pain. With pain & love in his broken heart, Dunn grants Fitzgerald's wish & ends her life. Fitzgerald passed on in her early thirties, leaving her mark on Dunn & Dupris forever.
"Million Dollar Baby" deserves all the Oscar nominations & accolades the film received & then some. Superb combo of Eastwood & Swank, Eastwood & Freeman, Freeman & Swank, & the three actors together. A very inspiring & heart wrenching story that will snatch a tear from every eye. I highly recommend this film to anyone who just likes to watch a great movie. A 10 out of ten with two thumbs way up!!!