“Million Dollar Baby” focuses on the close, complex relationship between boxer Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) and her trainer, the brusque Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood). At first, Frankie doesn’t want to train Maggie at all — her only source of support in the gym is former boxer “Scrap” Dupris (Morgan Freeman), who’s known Frankie long enough to be able to interpret him for her — but the two soon form a close bond. That emotional anchor keeps us in place when the movie’s tone slowly evolves, switching from inspirational to downright wrenching.
Equal parts sports story, rich character drama, and heartfelt tragedy, “Million Dollar Baby” hits as hard as its heroine and leaves you feeling bruised by the time you reach the credits. We mean that as a compliment — and we’re not the only ones who enjoy a little well-crafted agony, since the film swept the Oscars, scoring wins for Best Picture, Best Actress (Swank), Best Supporting Actor (Freeman), and Best Director (Eastwood).
As hard as they are to take, the emotions are what make the movie work. As Newsweek‘s review put it: “‘In his clean, unhurried, unblinking fashion, Eastwood takes the audience to raw, profoundly moving places. If you fear strong emotions, this is not for you. But if you want to see Hollywood filmmaking at its most potent, Eastwood has delivered the real deal.”