In the wake of a painful estrangement from his daughter, boxing trainer Frankie Dunn has 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 herself this far on raw talent, unshakable focus and a tremendous force of will. But more than anything, she wants someone to believe in her. The last thing Frankie needs is that kind of responsibility-- let alone that kind of risk--but won over by Maggie's sheer determination, he begrudgingly agrees to take her on. In turns exasperating and inspiring each other, the two come to discover that they share a common spirit that transcends the pain and loss of their pasts, and they find in each other a sense of family they lost long ago. Yet, they both face a battle that will demand more heart and courage than any they've ever known. [TRAILER]

STEVEN SNYDER'S REVIEW

Most of us go to the movies to be taken somewhere new – to embark on a journey we have not experienced before. And most of us go away on a weekly basis disappointed.

“Million Dollar Baby,” in stark contrast, is the genuine artifact, not a film that goes from point A to point B, but a refreshingly original experience that starts where it happens to start and ends in the only way that seems logical. It is not a great movie because it strives to be important, but because it simply tries to tell a story of people who enter each other’s lives, endure a series of struggles and triumphs, and emerge forever changed.

Not surprisingly, it defies traditional plot summaries. If I told you it was about a boxer, some would dismiss it. If I said it was a story about such issues as death, God, regret, classism and euthanasia, others would turn the page. And if I decided to focus on the journey of one man in rediscovering his heart, and both his capability and desire to love, it would sound like a preachy cliché.

“Million Dollar Baby,” quite simply, is a great story. It involves three people, and watches with quiet wisdom as their spheres intersect and overlap for a short span of time. And the joy of watching “Baby” is not in seeing what necessarily happens, but rather how these distinct personalities react to the situations they are forced into by these happenings.

Frankie Dunn, played by Clint Eastwood, is one of those simple, straight-forward characters who have become overly simple in modern Hollywood. Today, the complex characters are the ones that stand apart from the crowd, clamoring for extra attention. In so many older films, and here in “Baby,” the fascinating Frankie fades into the background because he wants to. He keeps his mouth shut, his eyes open, and says little while a furious complexity rages underneath.

He writes his daughter, and has his correspondence returns. He goes to Church and challenges his priest. He runs a gym and trains boxers, but they abandon him before making it big. He recites poetry in his office and sits quietly in the dark at home, watching boxing on television and mimicking the moves.

Maggie Fitzgerald, played by Hilary Swank in yet another brilliant performance, is not quite a tomboy and not quite a girl. Just as other movies would have simplified her plight, “Baby” eschews stereotypes. She approaches Frankie, begging him to train her, knowing that she is too old for her sport, too girly for a man who doesn’t train girls, too trashy to be taken seriously by most of the world, and too desperate to take no for an answer.

Scrap, played by Morgan Freeman, is the film’s wise old owl. He is Frankie’s right-hand man, becomes Maggie’s surrogate trainer, and serves as the omniscient narrator of the story, bringing a higher perspective to the on-screen drama.

But “Baby” is about more than a boxer, his friend, or his new student. It’s about more than her training, her career, and her shocking championship bout.

So much more.

Eastwood as a filmmaker has now delivered his most memorable achievement. Not a genre film like “Unforgiven” or a murder mystery like “ Mystic River,” “Million Dollar Baby” is a subtle masterpiece of characters, words, and actions that patiently allows the drama to come to us, not the other way around.

It’s about the forces that finally bring these three together and then threaten to tear them apart, in a form that is never, ever trite. Silences are as powerful as sudden revelations, and emotions are never simple, but ambiguous. Even today, I find myself debating their motivations and actions.

And with quiet earnestness, it also becomes a story of unshakable sacrifice and unbearable pain – about just how much we can endure before going down for the count.

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