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By Joanne Hilty
Special to the Rappahannock News
The grandest, most ambitious and most original movie in a long time is “Million Dollar Baby.” It had very little early pubhcity and virtually no hype. The reason was an ad blitz might have crippled the film by leading many people to quickly dismiss it as “just a boxing movie.” But it is so much more. Director Clint Eastwood explores the tragic side of human existence and the story emerges as an uplifting tragedy. The Rappahannock Association for the Arts and Community is showing “Million Dollar Baby” at The Theatre in Washington, VA., Friday, July 15, at 8:00 p.m.
Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman), Best Actress (Hilary Swank) and Best Director (Clint Eastwood), the film focuses on Maggie Fitzgerald (phenomenal Swank), an uneducated 31-year-old woman from deep in the hillbilly country of southwest Missouri who barely makes ends meet as a waitress while pursuing a dream of becoming a pro boxer.
She winds up at the “Hit Pit,” a seedy Los Angeles gym owned by Frankie Dunn (Eastwood), an aging fight manager with a weathered visage and a gravely voice. Frankie wants nothing to do with her. “I don’t train girls,” he growls. “People who see me fight say I’m pretty tough,” Maggie retorts in her Ozark drawl. “Girlie, tough ain’t enough,” he barks, turning away.
Burt Frankie’s long-time friend, Eddie “Scrap Iron” Dupris (magnificent Morgan Freeman), who looks after (and fives in) the gym sees something in Maggie and lets her hang around to work out. Soon, she doggedly bulls through Frankie’s considerable defenses and, under his tutelage, begins a long string of thunderous victories in the ring.
This story is not a set-up for a feel-good finish. Think Eastwood’s 1992 classic “Unforgiven”
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