Don't Get Boxed In! Check This Baby Out!

Rating: 8/10 (29 January 2005)

Millions of critics have been enraptured by the sheer emotional impact of Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby". With "Mystic River" and now "Baby", critics that were once "unforgiven" to Clint because of such clunkers as "Blood Work" & "Bronco Billy" are now in awe to the Clintster. Not that Clint cares about that sort of thing so much because in his eyes those pundits should really be called "The Witches of Eastwood". "Million Dollar Baby" stars Hilary Swank as Maggie, an impecunious waitress who dreams of becoming a professional boxer. Maggie is on a relentless pursuit to have a surly old trainer named Frankie train her. Maggie works out in Frankie's boxing gym everyday in hoping to persuade Frankie to be her hit-man. Frankie is played by none other than Eastwood himself. To be "frank" with you, I admired Eastwood's straightforward acting work here, but do not think it deserved a Best Actor Oscar nomination. However, his direction of "Million Dollar Baby" was worth its price. His attention to detail and framework was of the technical knockout variety. Moreover, the movie's startling emotional turn midway in the narrative is one of the most profound plot-twisters that I have seen in film in a very long time. Morgan Freeman plays the assistant gym sidekick to Frankie who he himself plays an imperative role as the overseer & narrator of the story's dramatic chops. Freeman is an acting legendary God in the business; he did play "God" in "Bruce Almighty". However, his work here was poignant but not of the Best Supporting Actor nomination weight-class. The heavyweight of "Million Dollar Baby" is Hilary Swank. She delivers passionately blow-by-blow. Her lauded performance has been recognized by numerous critics and my scorecard also shares that exact sentiment. She is the frontrunner for the Best Actress Academy Award. If Swank wins her second golden boy, Hilary will be living large in the "Hollywood Hills". Paul Haggis' screenplay does possess a heartfelt punch to it, but it felt lightweight at times in the church scenes. "Million Dollar Baby" is somber and it's unlike your typical boxing movie, but those are no reasons why you should throw in the towel for "Million Dollar Baby". Spend a few dollars and check out the "Million Dollar Baby"! **** Good