Now I will admit that when I sat down to watch this film it was 1am and was the third film I had watched in the same day. It was a Saturday and with not much on TV it seemed like the only thing to do. I had never seen this film but my partner recommended it strongly saying she couldn't believe I hadn't seen it, I was expecting to fall asleep half way through.
The film is based on some short stories by F.X. Toole which have now been republished with the films title. The film also won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and the Best Actor and Actress in Supporting Role Awards.
The film pulled me in almost straight away, the opening scene a boxing match between two men who want a title fight, one of them takes a massive blow to the face and gets a deep cut under his eye. Then Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) enters, he is the boxers trainer and manager and he quickly patches up the eye and gives his man a few instructions. His man then goes onto win the fight by simply doing what Frankie told him.
Frankie is an under-reated boxing coach and his soon to be champion boxer leaves him for a more business-like manager so he can get his championship fight quicker. As the days go by a female boxer named Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) starts coming to his gym every day seeking the coaching of Frankie. Frankie at first refuses putting it down to age and gender but Maggie persists and eventually he decides to take her on.
With a bit of help from friend and ex-boxer Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris (Morgan Freeman), who also narrates the story in non-dialogue scenes, Frankie trains Maggie well and she starts moving up the rankings towards a championship fight.
As the film develops we see a strong relationship developing between Frankie and Maggie, and eventually it becomes more like a relationship between a Father and a Daughter. I think this is very important part of the film as we see each of them don't really have the love of a family, Frankie writes to his daughter every week but she always returns his letters 'return to sender' and when Maggie buys her Mother a house she accuses her of trying to intefere with a welfare scam her and Maggie's sister are running.
However, throughout the film we see that Frankie is the character most in need of a companion as he tries to redeem his past which is what made him a reclusive boxing trainer with an estranged daughter.
The film is also about the determination of one person doing everything possible to achieve their goal. Maggie has worked as a waitress all her life saving so she can be trained as a boxer and even when she gets knocked back she still persists. As well as this the film also relates to the 'American Dream', in the sense that you can achieve your goals and go as high as you like but there is always something waiting that will send you crashing back to the bottom.
One of the aspects of the film I didn't like however, was the religion. Although it does give us an insight into the internal battle Frankie, a man who has been to church everyday for over 20 years, is fighting I think that this aspect was portrayed well enough in the rest of the film. Also getting rid of the church scenes would have knocked 10 minutes or so off a very lengthy feature.
Before watching this film I hadn't seen much from Clint Eastwood and he was someone whose work had never really appealed to me, so I wasn't really sure what to expect particularly in a directorial sense. I am pleased to say that I was very impressed with fillms direction and I loved the way the boxing scenes in particular were filmed. Eastwood's performance as Frankie is also excellent and he really protrays a man fighting a battle with himself very well.
Hilary Swank won an Academy Award for Best Actrees In A Supporting Role for her portrayal of ambitious female boxer Maggie Fitzgerald and it was an award well deserved. She really gets the character across well and as she starts to win fights you find yourself smiling as you see the joy it gives her.
Morgan Freeman also managed to win the opposite Supporting Role Award, and as one of my favourite actors I have to say his performance was good but not by any stretch of the imagination his best. He played out the role of an ex-boxer who seems to have brilliant foresight and mountains of wisdom very well, and as always comes across as a very likeable character.
Although lengthy the film is very enjoyable and is a rollercoaster ride of emotion, from the highs of winning big fights to the lowest point at the end of the film. The ending of the film is very depressing and will definitley bring that lump to your throat. Overall an excellent watch for any film fanatic and anyone else for that matter, the plot twist about two thirds of the way through is amazing, although it is slightly depressing and could have been a bit shorter.
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Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Pat O'Connor - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over, 15 years and over - Starring: Geraldine O'Rawe, Colin Firth, Saffron Burrows, Minnie Driver, Chris O'Donnell
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Clint Eastwood's 25th film as a director,Million Dollar Babystands proudly ... more
withUnforgivenandMystic Riveras the masterwork of a great American filmmaker. In an age of bloated spectacle and computer-generated effects extravaganzas, Eastwood turns an eleg...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Clint Eastwood's 25th film as a director,Million Dollar Babystands proudly ... more
withUnforgivenandMystic Riveras the masterwork of a great American filmmaker. In an age of bloated spectacle and computer-generated effects extravaganzas, Eastwood turns an eleg...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon...
In the wake of a painful estrangement from his daughter, boxing trainer Frankie Dunn has ... more
been unwilling to let himself get close to anyone for a very long time - then Maggie Fitzgerald walks into his gym. In a life of constant struggle, Maggie's gotten...
Advantages: Easy to follow plot and storyline; gets you thinking about life Disadvantages: Boring standard plot; some annoying characters; slow development
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Mar 1st, 2009
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