|
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| The
story focuses on the relationship between two friends: a mentor
and a protégé, father and daughter figures who long
for the restoration of family relationships they valued. We see
the highest form of love develop between these two friends – a
love that isn’t cheapened with stereotypical Hollywood romance,
but that illustrates loyalty, devotion and respect. |
(2004) Film Review |
| This
page was created on January 31, 2005
This page was last updated on
June 13, 2005
—Overview
—Trailers, Photos
—About
this Film pdf
—Spiritual Connections
Dial up modems will take a few moments |
| CREDITS |
| Directed
by Clint Eastwood
Story
by F.X. Toole (stories from Rope Burns)
Screenplay by Paul Haggis
Cast (in credits order)
Clint Eastwood .... Frankie Dunn
Hilary Swank .... Maggie Fitzgerald
Morgan Freeman .... Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris
Jay Baruchel .... Danger Barch
Mike Colter .... Big Willie Little
Lucia Rijker .... Billie 'The Blue Bear'
Brian F. O'Byrne .... Father Horvak
Anthony Mackie .... Shawrelle Berry
Margo Martindale .... Earline Fitzgerald
Riki Lindhome .... Mardell Fitzgerald
Michael Pena .... Omar
Benito Martinez .... Billie's Manager
Bruce MacVittie .... Mickey Mack
Produced by
Clint Eastwood .... producer
Paul Haggis .... producer
Robert Lorenz .... executive producer
Gary Lucchesi .... executive producer
Robert Moresco .... co-producer
Tom Rosenberg .... producer
Albert S. Ruddy .... producer
Original Music by Clint Eastwood
Cinematography by Tom Stern
Film Editing by Joel Cox
MPAA: Rated
PG-13 for violence, some disturbing images, thematic material and
language.
Runtime: USA:137 min
For rating reasons, go to FILMRATINGS.COM,
and MPAA.ORG.
Parents, please refer to PARENTALGUIDE.ORG
|
| TRAILERS AND CLIPS |
| —Trailers,
Photos |
| BOOK |
Million
Dollar Baby: Stories From The Corner
by
F. X. Toole
Seventy-year-old F.X. Toole has exploded onto the literary scene
with this astonishing first collection of stories drawn from his
own experiences in boxing. In these powerful and moving tales,
he reveals a complex web of athletes, trainers, and promoters and
their extended families, all players in an unforgiving business
where victory, like defeat, comes at a dark and painful price.
F.
X. Toole breathes life into vivid, compelling characters who
radiate the fierce intensity of the worlds they inhabit. In "The
Monkey Look," an aging cut man with an incorrigible sweet tooth
works the corner for Hoolie, a featherweight "bleeder" with attitude. "Black
Jew" brings Reggie Valentine Love and his camp to a brutal elimination
bout in Atlantic City, where they are treated like second-class
citizens by a promoter. In "Million $$$ Baby," seasoned trainer
Frankie Dunn faces the most daunting challenge of his life when
he agrees to aid the fearless Maggie Fitzgerald in her quest to
become a champion boxer. "Fightin' in Philly" and "Frozen Water" are
stories in which youthful dreams of glory and celebrity are threatened
by the harsh realities that suffuse both of these narratives. The
novella "Rope Burns" is the crowning achievement of the collection,
offering a gritty, heartrending account of the indestructible bond
that develops between a devoted fighter and his trainer.
In Rope Burns F.X.
bole exhibits the skill of a miniaturist: in precise and exquisite
detail, he peoples a world rich in unforgettable characters,
like Señora Cabrera, the owner of the Acapulco
café, who makes low-fat refried beans to keep a local fighter
in top form, and an anonymous museum guard with a soft spot for
Michelangelo. Toole's faithful dialogue crackles and bites, and
the flawed characters he creates cannot help but remind us of our
own too fragile humanity. He brings a new understanding to the
violence and purity of the sweet science and the world it engenders,
opening a window into the fighter's soul that can never he closed. --This
text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
|
| POSTER |
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| SYNOPSIS |
Frankie Dunn (CLINT EASTWOOD) has
trained and managed some incredible fighters during a lifetime
spent in the ring. The most important lesson he teaches his boxers
is the one that rules his life: above all, always protect yourself.
In the wake of a painful estrangement from his daughter, Frankie
has been unwilling to let himself get close to anyone for a very
long time. His only friend is Scrap (MORGAN FREEMAN), an ex-boxer
who looks after Frankie’s
gym and knows that beneath his gruff exterior is a man who has attended
Mass almost every day for the past 23 years, seeking the forgiveness
that somehow continues to elude him.
Then Maggie Fitzgerald (HILARY SWANK) walks into his gym.
Maggie’s never had much, but there is one thing she does have that very
few people in this world ever do: she knows what she wants and she’s willing
to do whatever it takes to get it. In a life of constant struggle, Maggie’s
gotten herself this far on raw talent, unshakable focus and a tremendous force
of will. But more than anything, what she wants is for someone to believe in
her.
The last thing Frankie needs is that kind of responsibility – let alone
that kind of risk. He tells Maggie the blunt hard truth: she’s too old
and he doesn’t train girls. But ‘no’ has little meaning when
you have no other choice. Unwilling or unable to give up on her life’s
ambition, Maggie wears herself to the bone at the gym every day, encouraged only
by Scrap. Finally won over by Maggie’s sheer determination, Frankie begrudgingly
agrees to take her on.
In turns exasperating and inspiring each other, the two come to discover that
they share a common spirit that transcends the pain and loss of their pasts,
and find in each other a sense of family they lost long ago. What they don’t
know is that soon they will both face a battle that’s going to demand more
heart and courage than any they’ve ever known. |
Review
by KEVIN MILLER
|
 “Some
choices you don’t want to make,” says Scrap, the
one-time heavyweight contender who narrates this film. Unfortunately,
his boss, boxing trainer Frankie Dunn, is about to be presented
with a real doozie.It doesn’t appear that way at first.
In fact, had I not been aware of all the controversy surrounding
this film, I would have been disappointed that a brilliant director
like Clint Eastwood had devoted one of his few remaining years
to craft what was turning out to be a compelling but not quite
innovative boxing movie.
Review
continued here |
Review by DARREL MANSON
|
 “Always
protect yourself.” That
is the prime rule that Frankie Dunn teaches his fighters. He
reinforces this rule over and over. It’s not bad advice
for someone going into a boxing ring where another person will
be trying to knock them unconscious. But as we watch Million
Dollar Baby we see that in reality, Frankie’s number
one rule is evidence of a lack of faith – in himself or
in anyone else.
Review
continued here |
Review
by TOM PRICE
|
 When we are confronted with a bleak reality, do we continue to
hope and pursue our dreams or do we give up in despair?
That question recurs in Million Dollar Baby,
an outstanding new film from Clint Eastwood about boxing and more.
This theme of life’s choices circles repeatedly through the
lives of the film’s three principal characters, until it
crescendos with a sudden twist. The climax unleashes a powerful
question that is at the heart of our culture’s debate over
the value of life and a life lived well.
 Eastwood, who directs the film, stars as Frankie Dunn, a hard-edged
pugnacious man who is owner of The Hit Pit, a boxing gym in downtown
Los Angeles. Beneath the tough exterior, we see a traditionalist
who has gone to Mass every day for the past 23 years and who is
teaching himself Gaelic as he reads poetry.
Review continued here
|
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