Clint Eastwood has made many great movies throughout his career both as an actor and a director. It could be argued that he has had the most endurable career of anyone in Hollywood. The last film Eastwood starred in was "Gran Torino", which was number one at the box office its opening weekend. Eastwood is now in his 80s, his acting career may be behind him, of course I wouldn't count him out, yet he still manages to average at least one film per year that he has directed. There always seems to be a place for Clint Eastwood, he's carved his only little niche.
The films Eastwood has directed also have its own style, and like the man himself, they aren't fussy, some of them remain laid back and soothing, yet the story remains important. His style has only refined through the years, but perhaps it was perfected with "Million Dollar Baby", which is definitely one of his masterpieces.
"Million Dollar Baby" had a strange birth, Eastwood took the first draft of the script by Paul Haggis, claiming it was perfect just the way it was. Eastwood's instincts were probably right, Haggis' original script stuck to the bare bones, and like the best of Eastwood's pictures didn't have any excess to it.
The story is set up like an old fashioned Hollywood movie, Eastwood plays Frankie an old boxing manager who has been in the business all his life. Frankie owns a gym, and runs it along with his longtime friend Scraps (Morgan Freeman) who is the janitor. At the beginning of the film, Frankie is managing a boxer who gets the chance at a title shot, something Frankie has never had, yet by playing it safe, he loses his boxer to another manager.
Enter Maggie (Hilary Swank) a girl who sees Frankie and wants him to train her to become a champion. Maggie comes from a trailer park upbringing, she feels boxing is the only way for her to attain a future, Frankie on the other hand doesn't want to train her due to the fact that she's a girl. Maggie is determined she's worth it, she continues to come to the gym to practice herself, and soon Frankie can't resist, he decides to take her on.
The relationship that blossoms between Maggie and Frankie is the heart of this film, Eastwood manages to make it into something that plays against cliche. Both Maggie and Frankie are missing something in their lives, we hear Frankie has a daughter he writes every week, yet his letter are always returned to him, it isn't even specified if his daughter is alive. Maggie grew up admiring her father who died when she was young, the rest of her family are lazy trailer trash who are on welfare. There is a deep caring and love that comes in this relationship between Maggie and Frankie, and it only becomes more meaningful in the heartbreaking finale.
"Million Dollar Baby" could've been a film made in the 1940s era, it has that feel of it, of course many of Eastwood's films feel like they come from another time, he always seems to be beating to the sound of his own drum unlike many filmmakers of today who may have forgotten the importance of story over style. Eastwood takes his time telling his stories, and developing his relationships, he's always able to get good performances from his actors because I believe he's willing to give them room to create full bodies characters. It's almost as if Eastwood's style is invisible when he does this, yet it's there only slow and methodical, this is a man who doesn't feel he has to prove anything to anyone. With "Million Dollar Baby", he gets a tremendous performance from Swank who has since this film gone on to play many strong willed women. Morgan Freeman also gets his time to shine in this film, it's become rather a cliche to cast Freeman as a narrator, which is one of his jobs in this film, he's also Frankie's closest friend and conscience. He's the one who knows Frankie the best, and perhaps knows what he should do better than he does.
"Million Dollar Baby" might not have been as special had it not been for Eastwood's reluctance to treat this as a regular Hollywood formula story, it in fact only starts off as that, the tone of the film remains somewhat sombre, Eastwood never forgets he's dealing with bruised characters, all of whom have something to prove, yet there are consequences.
The final act of the movie has caused much controversy, some have considered it manipulative, while others feel Eastwood made a fatal error by reducing Freeman as a narrator, breaking the structure of the whole film. The ending is in fact the key to the whole story, and it works because we have taken a journey with Frankie and Maggie, and it ends on the right note for both characters. Eastwood's films usually have a dark edge to them, and this film is no exception, Eastwood bathes the film in contrasting shadow and light images, and it works well with the tone of the film, yet it's also a story you can get so caught up into. I loved seeing the relationship of Maggie and Frankie grow, it is perhaps one of the best relationships put on screen in modern film.
I returned to "Million Dollar Baby" after a few years of not watching it, the film didn't seem to age, it just felt so familiar, but that could probably be said with most of Eastwood's films. Eastwood has proved himself as an American Auteur, there is a certain feel to all of his films that show his trademark. A film like "Million Dollar Baby", everything clicks so beautifully with the material, the script, and the cast, Eastwood is unstoppable, this story just seemed perfect for his brand of storytelling, and it is truly one of the great classics of the last ten years. Like the man himself, Eastwood's films never seem to get old, just wiser, and more interesting as time goes by.
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