Matt's Movie Blog

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

DEAR GOD, AN UPDATE!!


That's right sportsfans, this is me posting a real, honest to goodness movie review. Don't get all teary-eyed on me, now...

Review: Million Dollar Baby
Tuesday, March 1; Regal Falmouth #8
* * * ½ (out of 4)

Following a string of upsets at Sunday night’s Academy Awards, I have to admit I was curious as to how Million Dollar Baby stacked up, especially against The Aviator. I’ve never been a huge Clint Eastwood fan, but if his new brainchild could beat out the obvious favorite for Best Picture, pick up a Directing Oscar for him, and take two of the four acting honors, I figured I needed to give it a shot. Convincing me it was better than The Aviator wouldn’t be hard, but that didn’t necessarily mean the film deserved what it got. I’m glad to say it deserved everything it got, although a lot more hinged on the performances of Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman (and to a lesser extent of Eastwood himself) rather than Eastwood’s directing.

That was really my only gripe. It was good directing, and the boxing scenes captured what I think of as the atmosphere of a low-grade boxing match – including a lot of the raw brutality that I didn’t expect Eastwood to show – and workout programs. However, I think there were a lot of films this year that presented their settings and subjects a lot more interestingly. Eastwood loved the action scenes, but he also loved the shadows; much of the film’s very emotional moments take place in the darkness of the gym, and not being able to see the faces didn’t quite work for me. I can see how he might use that as a symbol for Eastwood’s inability to open up, but I also think he could have made a few more very powerful moments by showing his own face.

Fortunately for him, Hilary Swank is nothing short of incredible. She plays the female boxer who convinces Burns (Eastwood), an aging boxing trainer/manager, to take her on as a client. She creates one of the most complete characters that I’ve seen in a film in a very long time. This is a character who openly describes herself as “trash” not too far into the movie, and once you are introduced to her family, it’s not hard to see where that distinction came from. It’s a very stereotypical look at life in the south, but it’s also one that is not too far from the truth in many cases. Using her love of boxing, Swank gives the character so much more life and fire than any other character even remotely provides, and when the tragic turning point of the film hits, I don’t see it as at all possible to not feel anything.

Morgan Freeman, this year’s Best Supporting Actor, adds the same from another perspective. He shows one possible path that Swank could follow in her relationship with Eastwood – not good, not bad, just possible. He has everything, from remarkable stories to the tragic twist. His presence serves as a statement on Burns’s character and dedication. These two old men love each other dearly, and they’re each fiercely loyal to the other, despite bickering like an old married couple. Freeman does well to step back in the film and serve his purpose, emerging with complete strength at just the right moments to poke and prod both Burns and (Swank) onto the right track.

This isn’t a boxing movie. Boxing is the gimmick; what Eastwood built is a pretty standard inspirational story that he builds perfectly and then rips away at exactly the right moment. The end is gut-wrenching and heartbreaking, but one look at the motivations of Burns and (Swank) shows it as the only possible solution to the final crisis. Eastwood’s last shot is perfect. This may not be my favorite film of the past year, but the individual elements – all three performances, the script, and Eastwood’s directing – lead to something much bigger than the film overall, and each person fully deserved the recognition they received this past weekend.