Million Dollar Baby

Categories: 2004 films | Tragedy films | Films directed by Clint Eastwood | Best Picture Oscar | Best Director Oscar (film) | Best Actor Oscar Nominee (film) | Best Actress Oscar (film) | Best Supporting Actor Oscar (film) | Boxing films | Controversial films

Million Dollar Baby is a 2004 dramatic film directed by Clint Eastwood. The screenplay was written by Paul Haggis based on short stories by F.X. Toole, the pen name for fight manager and "cut man" Jerry Boyd, originally published under the title Rope Burns, which have since been republished under the movie's title. It stars Eastwood, Hilary Swank, and Morgan Freeman. It is the story of an under-appreciated boxing trainer, his elusive past, and his quest for atonement in helping an underdog amateur female boxer achieve her fragile dream of becoming a professional.

Plot

Maggie (Hilary Swank), a young female amateur who aspires to prove her worth by becoming a successful boxer, is taken in by Frank Dunn (Clint Eastwood), who aids her in realizing her goal while developing a stronger-than-blood bond. Initially, Dunn is dispassionate toward Maggie because she is a 32-year-old female. Maggie, however, perseveres in her attempts to gain Dunn's favor by training each day in his gym, even when others are discouraging. Frank's friend and employee, ex-boxer Eddie Dupris (Morgan Freeman), sympathizes with Maggie's efforts and convinces Dunn to coach her short-term. (Dupris is also the narrator of the film, who reveals the extent to which Maggie and Dunn's relationship transforms both their lives.)

Having experienced no intimate relationship with his own daughter, Dunn forms a stronger bond with Maggie, whose family does not care for her well-being, and decidingly coaches and manages her professional career. With his expertise, Maggie fights her way up to the women's welterweight boxing division, eventually placing a match in Las Vegas against the WBA women's welterweight champion who is known for her foul play. Maggie is severely paralyzed by a treacherous act of her dirty opponent, and Dunn consequently blames himself for her downfall having trained her against his better judgement. In the medical recovery facility, Maggie confides to Dunn that she has "seen it all" and asks to be relieved of suffering. She attempts suicide by biting her tongue multiple times in an attempt to bleed to death. Her attempt fails since her efforts are subdued, but Dunn ultimately commits euthanasia. As narrator, Dupris states that Dunn then disappears. The film's story is revealed to be a narration by Dupris for Dunn's own daughter, who has forsaken him all the while, to inform her elusive father's true character.

Awards

Million Dollar Baby received the title of the Best Picture of 2004 at the 77th Academy Awards. Eastwood was awarded his second Directing Oscar for the film and also received a Best Actor nomination. Swank and Freeman received Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor Oscars. The film was also nominated for the Film Editing and Writing Adapted Screenplay awards.

The film was also nominated for and won a number of Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and Directors's Guild Awards.

Criticism

Disability rights activists

In January and February 2005, the film became controversial when some disability rights activists protested the ending of the film, in which Frank carries out Maggie's wish to die after she becomes quadriplegic as a result of a spinal cord injury suffered during her last fight. Prominent among these critics was John Hockenberry, long-time NPR and NBC correspondent and paraplegic.[1] [2] [3] The Weekly Standard also criticized the movie for its ending and for missed opportunities. [4]

Christian Right and social conservatives

Around the same time, it was criticized by activists from the Christian Right and social conservatives, including Rush Limbaugh and Michael Medved, on the same issue. Medved stated that: "My main objection to Million Dollar Baby always centered on its misleading marketing, and effort by Warner Brothers to sell it as a movie about a female Rocky, with barely a hint of the pitch-dark substance that led Andrew Sarris of the New York Observer (hardly a right-winger) to declare that 'no movie in my memory has depressed me more than Million Dollar Baby.'" [5]

Sportswriters

On a more topical level, Million Dollar Baby has been criticized by some sportswriters as being greatly inaccurate and confusing from a boxing perspective. [6] Some Irish speakers have also criticized the fact that the phrase Mo Chuisle was misspelled in the movie as Mo Cuishle. The phrase was also mistranslated in the movie; nevertheless it was cited as one of most influential phrases from a Hollywood film that year. [7] The movie has also been praised for awakening interest in the Irish language. [8]

Responses to criticism

Eastwood responded to the criticism by pointing out the movie was about the American dream. [9] In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Eastwood distanced himself from the actions of characters in his films, noting, "I've gone around in movies blowing people away with a .44 magnum. But that doesn't mean I think that's a proper thing to do" [10]. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times, who named the film his favorite of 2004, believes "a movie is not good or bad because of its content, but because of how it handles its content. Million Dollar Baby is classical in the clean, clear, strong lines of its story and characters, and had an enormous emotional impact." [11]

External links

• Million Dollar Baby at the Internet Movie Database
• US News article: Million Dollar Maybe, A real-life version of Maggie Fitzgerald
• Movie spoiler plot of film
• Rotten Tomatoes' summary of more than 170 reviews
• Suite101.com: Writers of Million Dollar Baby honored at 17th Annual USC Scripter Award Ceremony, February 21, 2005de:Million Dollar Baby

es:Million Dollar Baby fr:Million Dollar Baby id:Million Dollar Baby it:Million Dollar Baby ja:ミリオン・ダラー・ベイビー nl:Million Dollar Baby pl:Za wszelką cenę sv:Million Dollar Baby