Million Dollar Baby
Release Date:
December 17, 2004
Limited release
On the Big Board |
Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
27/133 |
Dan Krovich |
Very well done, but formulaic. |
Frankie is an aging boxing trainer and owner of a gym. After working with some of the best athletes in the business, one of his top boxers has left him to go with a manager who can has the will to get him into the title bout. A man who is looking for redemption and forgiveness for a past transgression against his daughter, Frankie spends his free time reading the Gaelic poetry of William Butler Yeats.
Working a bag in the corner of Frankie’s gym is Maggie. A 31-year-old woman who comes from a trailer park background, the only time she feels complete is when she is working toward her goal of being a serious contender in the realm of women’s boxing. Seemingly too old to achieve that goal in an expected time frame, it will be Maggie’s grit and determination that carry her through.
Frankie and Maggie’s paths cross as she repeatedly asks him to be her trainer. Unwilling to accept instruction from anyone else, Maggie continues to try to prove herself in the eyes of the man she idolizes. Assisting her toward that goal is former boxer Eddie “Scrap-Iron” Dupris, who both lives and works in Frankie’s gym. All of these paths converge as the three key players in this story, an adaptation of F.X. Toole’s Tales From the Ring, work toward a singular goal.
Continuing his storied career in direction, Clint Eastwood directs himself and previous Academy Award winners Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman in a touching drama that centers on the very best humanity has to offer. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
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