A brilliant exploration of love, loss, and death

Rating: 10/10 (2 March 2007)

"Million Dollar Baby" is on its surface a story about a female boxer and the aging fight manager and gym owner who trains her, which might lead one to think of it as sort of a female version of "Rocky." But it is much more. At its core this film is a brilliant exploration of love, loss, and death. Clint Eastwood proved again with this film that he is one of the great American directors, in a class with his hero, John Ford. Under his direction both Hillary Swank and Morgan Freeman won well deserved Oscars and Eastwood himself won two more for Best Picture and Best Director. Finally, Paul Haggis was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar.
No movie is perfect and "Million Dollar Baby" is no exception. Many of its characters are cartoonish characterizations, used as props for the more fully developed manager Frankie, played by Eastwood, His fighter, Maggie, played by Swank, and "Scrap," Frankie's faithful friend and employee, played by Freeman. Maggie's hillbilly family, the brutish fighter, who Maggie fought for a championship, and a couple of the hangers on in Frankie's gym are examples of the less than believable characters in the film.
But don't be put off by these overdrawn characters, for they are merely props designed to illustrate the relationships among Frankie, Maggie, and Scrap, who are fully realized and entirely believable. Frankie and Maggie come to love one another as the father and daughter each has lost. Although Scrap and Frankie are each other's dearest friend, each recognizes the weaknesses of the other. These relationships are used to dramatize the anguish of a moral dilemma and the triumph of the human spirit in the face of great odds. Not to be missed.