Million Dollar Baby

My back never looked quite that good, but sorta!  (Bush the First was enthroned at the time.) 

Not from boxing, though.  I've never liked fisticuffs, think it's beastly, the opposite of wrestling, which is elegant.

But it was Friday afternoon, my liberry shift over, LOML away on binness, so I made for the multiplex, determined to see whatever was on next, unless it was stupid.  Million Dollar Baby beat Sideways by five minutes.

Until Unforgiven, I had no use for Eastwood whatsoever, having accidentally had to watch The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly twice, just to be polite to somebody, I forget who(m), back in 1967; scarred me for life.  But I loved Unforgiven (though I've never been able to watch the first scene), and despite plotholes you could ride a horse through, Mystic River was a pleasure, thanks to Sean Penn.

Same problem here (what did he do to alienate his daughter? where is she? where's her mother?  what's with the Gaelic and the mediocre Yeats?), and it's slowww getting off the ground.  I sighed, flipped up the armrests for three seats in both directions, made a pillow out of my jacket and purse, and settled in for what I suspected would become a nap.  Even trashed-out, Hilary Swank looks her last name, very Saks 5th Avenue rather than WalMart, which her character's supposed to be.  And she punches like a girl and oh, ho-hum.

Which is, of course, exactly what Eastwood wants us to think, so he can bring us back to Square One and then take us to the title fight and make us believe it.  His character actually says it:  "Sometimes in order to throw a punch, you have to step back."  Hm.  Food for thought, there.

I never forgot I was watching a movie, unfortunately (mostly thanks to aforementioned plotholes), but Hilary Swank was absolutely riveting.  When she started getting her footwork together, I sat up.  And stayed up.  The idea of women actually slugging it out suddenly seemed plausible, and I got absorbed in the fight scenes like I never imagined I could.  I could well imagine throwing punches like that, but I couldn't imagine taking them, so I guess that was a problem.  The end was just plain maudlin, which annoyed me.  But " Sometimes in order to throw a punch, you have to step back" still has my mind going in good ways.  Which is all anyone can hope for from a Hollywood movie, I guess.

Comments

[beth]

I liked it too, in spite of everything, although I felt the ending was almost too much. It's weird - I've gone from being revolted by the violent early Clint Eastwood to where he's one of my favorite actors and directors. I think he's one of the sexiest guys on the screen - even more so now. (And I don't go for older guys.) Loved him with Streep in "Bridges of Madison County" - not the story so much as their chemistry - and the great Secret Service film with Malcovich,and Unforgiven...yeah. I've become a fan. And I hope he can keep it up for a while longer.