It is one of the biggest films of the year, and took out three of the major awards at this year’s Academy Awards; Best Film, Best Director and Best Actress. I’m ofcourse talking about ‘Million Dollar Bay’. Is the film worthy of such accolades?! Well, put it this way, it is a very fine film and what gives it its strength is some great central characters, realised in strong performances.
Hilary Swank is Maggie, a woman in her twenties from a deprived, working class background. She works long hours waitering tables. She has always held a dream that she could make a career out of boxing. Maggie starts working out at the gym of one of the legendary boxing coaches, Frankie Dunn. Maggie is angling for Frankie to take her on. At first, Frankie doesn’t want anything to do with her but, in the end, relents. Maggie now has a taste of her possible future, and moves like an unstoppable force, determined to realise her dream at any cost. Maggie’s pursuit of her dream is the heart of the story to ‘Million Dollar Baby’.
Swank gives a memorable performance. There was, of-course, the sheer physical demands of taking on such a role. (It does engender some great performances…one only has to think of Robert De Niro in ‘Raging Bull’). More to the point however is Swank’s rugged, determined quality which is perfect for her role. Maggie may have come to boxing relatively late in life however she has been a fighter all her life!
Just as Swank has an inherent rugged, well travelled quality so does Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood who is well cast as fight coach and manager, Freddie Dunn. Eastwood’s complex and evocative portrayal reveals a multifaceted man; proud, hard bitten, defensive, and a lover of fine poetry. He is also a troubled man, unable to come to terms with his fractured relationship with his daughter who has cut him out of her life.
Morgan Freeman plays the film’s narrator, and active character, Freddie’s gym assistant, Scrap-Iron Dupris. Freeman’s character lives and breathes Freddie’s gym, a wise old hand who watches over everyone. He was a good boxer in his time though he never made it to the top. As Scrap, Freeman does what he does best, playing a genuine, salt of the earth character.
There’s one other performance that caught my eye, Jay Baruchel as Danger, a regular at Freddie’s gym. Baruchel nails a good minor role, his character is something of a village idiot, who is ‘looked after’ at the gym. His name is an anomoly , he couldn’t hurt anyone, much less can he box! Baruleb mixes comic flair with pathos.
A note to end with. ‘Million Dollar Baby’ is a longish film but stay with it. Unlike Maggie who liked to land her best blows in the opening round, director Eastwood delivers some knockout scenes as the film relentlessly draws to its close.