Movie Stats:
Released 2004 (USA)
American, in English (very minimal non-translated German;
minimal translated Gaelic)
Director – Clint Eastwood
Stars – Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman
Plot Summary:
Plucky, would-be fighter Maggie Fitzgerald (Swank) worms her
way into the heart of grizzled old boxer-turned-gym-owner-and-trainer Frankie
Dunn (Eastwood) and works her way up to the championship game. Freeman co-stars
as Frankie’s long-time friend and gym manager, Eddie “Scrap-Iron” Dupree.
Warnings:
Minimal blue language; boxing-related violence.
Bad Stuff:
The foreshadowing was really heavy-handed. I actually
chuckled when the “bad” fighter (Billie the Blue Bear, played by Lucia Rijker)
turned up for the final fight in a robe that made her look like an evil
sorceress. It was silly.
As much as I love Morgan Freeman’s voice (who doesn’t?), the
narration bugged me the whole movie until they revealed at the end why he was
doing it. Then it made sense but that was seriously about two minutes before
the film ended.
It’s a touch over-sentimental.
Good Stuff:
I loved the relationships between the characters. The
obvious focal point was the father-daughter-like relationship between Frankie
and Maggie, which was both touching and realistic. I personally enjoyed the
friendship between Frankie and Scrap. You could tell that these men had known
and loved each other for decades. A “lesser” relationship I adored was the one
between Scrap and “Danger,” played by Jay Baruchel. It was so subtle and sweet.
Fantastic performances by all the key players.
The dialogue is great.
The Verdict:
I didn’t want to like this film. I’ve never been
particularly interested in the premise so it hasn’t been on my list of “oh, I
always wanted to see that.” I thought it sounded kind of dumb. I was wrong.
This is a great film. I really enjoyed it. The relationships
are the best part. It’s tremendously satisfying to be a fly on the wall,
witnessing the long-term friendship between Frankie and Scrap, and watching the
love build between Frankie and Maggie. It’s also very touching. I’ve heard a
lot of people say that this movie is depressing. While it does have a sad
ending, I didn’t find it depressing. I thought that it was beautiful. Of
course, I’ve always been a sucker for stories that involve people doing
whatever it takes for the people they love.
I give the movie 4.25 stars.
4 comments:
I liked this movie. I'm a sucker for Clint Eastwood. I was hoping you would too.
I liked it too. It's also the movie that made me understand why the people of Portland will never fluoridate their water.
I liked how dedicated Hilary Swank was to her sport. We don't get a lot of that with women in sports in movies.
PS. By the time this movie came out, we were friends! I guess that's true for the last couple of movies, but I've just realized it.
Cindy - I think the two I've seen for this project are the only Clint Eastwood movies I've ever seen all the way through. Does he have range? So far all I've seen from him is "grizzled old coot," haha.
P - I don't get the fluoride reference. I must have missed something? I really liked how Maggie was tough without being a total bitch. You hardly ever see that in movies of any sort.
Post a Comment