Million Dollar Baby (2004)

A determined woman works with a hardened boxing trainer to become a professional.

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Paul Haggis (screenplay), F.X. Toole (stories)

Stars:

Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman

Top Rated Movies #203 | Won 4 Oscars. Another 63 wins & 83 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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'
Brían F. O'Byrne	...	Father Horvak (as Brían O'Byrne)
Anthony Mackie	...	Shawrelle Berry
Margo Martindale	...	Earline Fitzgerald
Riki Lindhome	...	Mardell Fitzgerald
Michael Peña	...	Omar
Benito Martinez	...	Billie's Manager
Bruce MacVittie	...	Mickey Mack
David Powledge	...	Counterman at Diner
Joe D'Angerio	...	Cut Man (as Joe d'Angerio)

Storyline

Wanting to learn from the best, aspiring boxer Maggie Fitzgerald wants Frankie Dunn to train her. At the outset he flatly refuses saying he has no interest in training a girl. Frankie leads a lonely existence, alienated from his only daughter and having few friends. Maggie's rough around the edges but shows a lot of grit in the ring and he eventually relents. Maggie not only proves to be the boxer he always dreamed of having under his wing but a friend who fills the great void he's had in his life. Maggie's career skyrockets but an accident in the ring leads her to ask Frankie for one last favor.

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Plot Keywords:

boxing | boxing trainer | women boxing | death | suicide attempt | 

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Taglines:

Beyond his silence, there is a past. Beyond her dreams, there is a feeling. Beyond hope, there is a memory. Beyond their journey, there is a love.

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, some disturbing images, thematic material and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Irish

Release Date:

28 January 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rope Burns

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Athletic Club - 6525 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$179,953, 19 December 2004, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$100,492,203

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$216,763,646

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Lakeshore Entertainment, Malpaso Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Rope Burns: Stories From the Corner," a collection of short stories based on the experiences of long-time fight manager and cut-man Jerry Boyd, writing under the pen name F.X. Toole, was published in 2000 by Harper Collins. Toole was seventy at the time, and had been writing and battling rejection letters for forty years. "Rope Burns" was his first published work. Soon after its publication, he was commissioned to write his first novel, an epic story set on the Texas-Mexico border. He died on September 2, 2002, at the age of 72, just before his novel was finished. "Rope Burns" was dedicated to Jerry's partner and longtime friend Dub Huntley.

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Goofs

Death adrenaline overdose would have been agonizing and probably the worst way for a quadriplegic to die. If Frankie had performed ANY research prior to give the overdose shot, it's almost certain that he would have NOT done it.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris: [Narrating] Only ever met one man I wouldn't wanna fight. When I met him he was already the best cut man in the business. Started training and managing in the sixties, but never lost his gift.

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Crazy Credits

The Warner Brothers logo is the classic shield version, shown in a color palette (mainly black and white, with a dark green tint) matching the "feel" of the movie, and is static instead of the modern 3D animated sequence.

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Connections

Referenced in Siskel & Ebert: Avatar/It's Complicated/Crazy Heart/Did You Hear About the Morgans (2009)

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Soundtracks

Blue Diner
Written by Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens

User Reviews

Swank! Eastwood! Freeman!

It would be difficult to imagine a more perfect trio of performers the likes of Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, and Morgan Freeman in their respective roles in the emotionally-charged "Million Dollar Baby."

My favorite scenes were the early sequences in which Maggie (Swank) visits the dowdy boxing gym and co-opts Eastwood's crusty boxing trainer Frankie into becoming her mentor. Along with the veteran, retired boxer Eddie, played by Freeman, the performances were as electric as the Ali shuffle.

In the overall arc of the story of "Million Dollar Baby," there were three extraneous subplots: (1) Frankie's visits to church and his talks with the priest; (2) the story of the mentally-challenged young man named Danger, who appears in the gym and is taunted by the boxers; and (3) Maggie's family members introduced in two scenes filled with such vulgarity that much of the film's hard-earned credibility was lost. Not only would the film have worked effectively without the subplots, it would have been a much better film without them.

While Eastwood's direction was superb, much credit should also go to the designers, especially the stylish work with lighting. I cannot recall a film as dimly lit as this one, and the subdued lighting contributed substantially to the characters and mood evoked in this sensitive film. The three main performances were standouts. But this film was also a very successful team effort.