If you grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, Clint Eastwood was either 'The man with no name' from Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns or Inspector Harry Calahan from Dirty Harry. However, in the past few decades, Clint Eastwood stepped behind the lens to direct more than 40 feature films. Clint Eastwood is clearly a masterful storyteller and his body of work is mightily impressive - Unforgiven (1992), A Perfect World (1993), The Bridges Of Madison County (1996), Mystic River (2003), Gran Torino (2008) and American Sniper (2014). Million Dollar Baby (2004) is up there amongst his most accomplished.
In Million Dollar Baby, aspiring boxer Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) wants gym owner and legendary trainer Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) to train her. Dunn's response, "I don't train girls."
Of course, Maggie's dogged determination pays off. Dunn relents and agrees to train her. For a while, the storyline follows the well-worn path of the likes of Rocky, Girlfight or The Fighter, in particular the flourishing relationship between trainer and boxer.
Beyond boxing, Million Dollar Baby is a tour de force, acting masterclass from the three main protagonists. Clint Eastwood gives a beautifully nuanced performance allowing Morgan Freeman space to fully embody his role as ex-boxer, Eddie Dupris. Both actors approach the material with the practised ease of a veteran, honed in their craft, but in many ways, they're merely supporting Hilary Swank, as the single-minded Maggie Fitzgerald. All three were nominated for an Academy Award. Morgan Freeman won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and Hilary Swank won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Actress. Clint Eastwood consoled himself with the award for Best Director [and Million Dollar Baby won the Academy Award for Best Motion Picture that year].
As the film develops, this melancholy tale of an ageing, guilt-ridden trainer redeemed by a surrogate father-daughter relationship is tested in the final act. And yes, whilst Morgan Freeman's full-bodied narration is lifted wholesale from The Shawshank Redemption, it does serve as the ideal exposition narrative for the film.
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