Million Dollar Baby Review

Clint Eastwood (Frankie), Hillary Swank (Maggie) and my all time favorite Morgan Freeman (Scrap). There has to be something good about Eastwood's new movie, right?

Most movie critics call MDB a poignant and solid hit. They spill praise into their reviews with powerful words like 'Redemption', ‘Resolution' and ‘Human Drive'. The Oscars gave validity to the articles with MDB receiving many; this being the ultimate ovation bestowed by Hollywood.

On the other end of the spectrum, disability activists are sputtering in shock and anger over MDB. A common feeling in the disabled community is that MDB is a slap in the face, especially to those who are severely disabled.

It personifies what we as disabled people fight against every day; that our abilities, social worth and quality of life are totally misunderstood and at best very under valued.

Finally, Hollywood has now questioned our very reason to want to exist. With all the opposing thoughts and hoopla surrounding Million Dollar Baby, I had to go and make up my mind for myself.

I actually went to see MDB twice ... not because I loved it but because my reaction to the first viewing was so powerful. Frustration, anger and downright confusion led me back to make sure I was not basing thoughts on a bias I didn't see.

In the beginning I loved the characters. They were everyday people I could relate to or even recognize. Struggling with the harsh realities that life can dole out and not giving up; their self respect in tact.

Unfortunately, this changed as the movie continued; I was increasingly irritated at how the characters were portrayed. Failing to ‘make it' in life, they seemed to swallow pride and motivation, settling for whatever came into their hands. In this I felt Hollywood's socio economic elitism came into play. They took what could be strong characters, with life yet to live and made them so weak from failure that they became passive or desperate. It seemed to show how out of touch the writers were to the real world. We all deal with failures and at times have self pity, but this was on a ridiculous level.

Does anyone find it odd, the vast difference in Denzel Washington's role and outcome in the movie ‘The Bone Collector'? Mr. Washignton played a former detective who was the nation's best crime scene analysts. He worked homicide and especially serial murders. In the movie he wanted to die because he was a quadriplegic who also had life threatening seizures, from an on the job injury.

What is the difference between Denzel's character and Maggie? He is seen as a worthwhile cause. He is intelligent, has money, and is good looking. Topping it all off is the most important factor, his successful work as a specialized detective, he worked to keep us safe. Therefore in the end of his movie he was getting better. He was smiling, had a girlfriend, (Angelina Jolie no less), and a job again. He was also reunited with family he had cut off in desperation and all on Christmas. I am guilty as well, I kept thinking how wonderful it was he had a life back and could protect people. There is of course another huge difference in the two movies. We were given some information. We were given a look into what it took to be him. To be in terrible sadness and anger over all you've lost and hopeless over getting it back. To want to die, yet having the information written into the script that this was a normal feeling that lasts at least a year, sometimes longer. We could also see all the technology around him that helped him and the people who loved him and wanted him alive.

Opening MDB is Frankie. Hardened by the streets and a life of regrets; he is a tough as nails coach, growling his instructions through gritted teeth. Moves must be perfect for maximum effect and safety as he demands the sacrifices it takes to be a champion. His mere presence domineering. It seems he has everything under his control except for the estranged relationship with his daughter. Sadly he walks home at night to letters she sent back unopened. Strangely we never find the cause of this problem though it is a huge part of his feelings and role. Without this information I have to assume she is not within driving or flying distance?

It doesn't take long to realize the truth. Frankie is a self absorbed man, desperate to grab glory he never could achieve in his own career. There is something almost embarrassing about Frankie's catering to his star pupil. This is where confusion first enters. Although he almost seems to be salivating over a Championship, he makes silly mistakes and looses the fighter. This is a familiar role for Eastwood and he is good at it. The ‘I want to protect you so I will control you' theme. This makes it very easy for him to be chauvinistic, hateful and self sabotaging and of course lovable at the same time. It doesn't work as well as it did in the 70's; how far we've come baby!

Scrap is another familiar role. Frankie's best friend; both former fighters they met many years back. At one point Scrap saving Frankie's life during a fight.

Morgan Freeman is said to turn down roles that are stereotypical or type cast; how he ended up as Scrap I don't know. Besides his narration, which seemed to help hold the movie together, his character was difficult to watch.

He sweeps, mops and fixes the toilets in Frankie's gym, although he could easily be a trainer himself. He watches the goings on with an old mans wisdom, giving advice and wisdom that Frankie never takes. Frankie treats him terribly and Scrap pathetically sticks around. He chooses silence to standing up for himself, all the while living in a hopped up storage closet in the gym. Yes, a hopped up storage closet. Keep in mind this is the man who saved Frankie's life. His socks are full of holes only a rat could chew, yet he can't take money from Frankie for new ones due to a gambling problem. We know this from the remark, “I don't know boss, it (the money) might just end up at the track”. His slow, sad talk and gaze is of a man wishing to get hit by a bus.

Why didn't Frankie take the initiative in this situation and go buy Scrap socks himself? It's a logical solution. Also, is it really possible to do damage at the track with sock money?

Just when you think you cannot take anymore you realize Hollywood can anticipate your every emotion. They saw the need for some comedy and took action. Who was the comic relief? A young mentally retarded man about 20 they named Danger. It's not a kind, fun name but a joke he thinks is a compliment. In most scenes he's flailing his fists through the air at what seems to be evil spirits, attacking at every direction. We only know he was dumped off by an uncaring Step Father who then went home (to the South of course) to ‘Dangers' alcoholic Mother.

After raising this loving child for 20 years she made no attempt to pick him up? I had to assume that was the idea since no one lifted a phone to call anyone, and they had a phone because I saw it on the wall. They could have at least asked where he lived. They made fun of his scrawny legs and he wore the same tights everyday. Even the hardest man would realize he could use a meal. A sandwich or something!

This is completely unrealistic for a very real reason. The vast majority of people like Danger are taken care of by laws set in place thanks to the DDD. The DDD is one of the biggest lobbyists in Washington D.C., operated by parents of children who are developmentally disabled. They are a passionate group for obvious reasons. Their children will grow up and remain a child. Their children will also likely survive them; vulnerable to the world. Invariably Danger would have sought out help. He would not have lived in the street or under a bridge with the homeless because he would never be able to survive in the street or under a bridge with the homeless.

Maggie was more of the same, showing up wanting Frankie to be her coach. She brought on feelings in a lot of people that I don't think were intended. I have heard her described as selfish, whining, all talk and not caring about the pain that will be carried around by the one person who cares. At 31 she seems unbelievably childlike, begging for someone to take control. She follows Frankie around and calls him boss though he makes it clear he doesn't train girls. Maggie is desperate to be a boxer, though I have to wonder if this was such a life goal why wait through her 20's to pursue it. What brought on this sudden stir to action?

The dramatic moment we were waiting for finally came in a confrontation with Frankie. I sat up to take notice; I knew this would be a turning point where we learned what this poor girl went through. I prepared myself for the worst.

Tearfully, she let it all out. The pain of growing up in a trailer park, having a fat Mother and a two generations of family on welfare.

I waited for the rest, but it never came. What was so monumentally damaging? Hasn't she heard the true stories of girls, who despite a parent on drugs raised their siblings on their own? Working and making their way through school, with the help of State assistance thank you very much.

This was actually one of the more angering let downs in MDB and maybe the most blatant form of stereotyping throughout the movie. I am sick of the hurtful, yet oft used term, ‘trailer trash'. I can't think of any reason a person would tell a child that they are trash. It hurts no matter their age or how tough a kid seems. A label that crushes self esteem and expectations; it is also one more label heavily pushed in this movie.

Maggie's family was made as sorry as they could be made; the very picture of poor southerners in Eastwood's mind. Hillbillies; fat and living in a trailer. They're not even able to love one another for the fighting over food stamps, of course through exploitation of the government and our taxes. At one point Maggie gave her mother a home and her only reaction was, “What about my welfare! I can't live without my welfare!”

My stomach actually churned as Maggie smiled about her fondest memory. Her Dad who loved and doted on her had a much loved dog. The dog was disabled, actually paralyzed from the waist down. The beloved dog would drag its body across the kitchen floor, pulling it back end with his front legs. She remembered with a grin how she and her sister sat at the table busting up with laughter. One day, when they knew her Dad was close to dying ( he could hardly walk ), he took the dog on a ride where he killed and buried him out of love. Now are you seeing the manipulation?

As the movie went on Maggie rose in boxing and a Father Daughter type relationship developed. It was actually very touching; a healing that you knew was needed, especially for Frankie. Then in a fight she was sucker punched by a known dirty fighter. This dirty fighter was someone you were destined to dislike. A former prostitute from Europe she took so much pleasure in hitting someone when they weren't looking; somehow though Maggie's stool was lying on its side and not within reaching distance of Frankie. She fell on it and broke her neck. Paralyzed from the neck down she is on a ventilator so she can breathe. Everyone I talked to wanted to know what happened to the fighter who did this to her. Why the fight was not stopped sooner and if it was something that could be criminal even if in the ring. The fact that she was well known for such things in a professional boxing ring, you would think she'd have been taken out of the sport a long time ago. She was a crowd draw though and that's what mattered. There is something indirectly familiar with how society holds athletes. They are turned into heroes, no matter what there behavior is, as long as we are entertained. By the way… she was a he. Mr. Eastwood hired a man to play the female boxer that was so tough and mean.

The Boxing Foundation took care of her bills and in talking to a woman who has been in social work for over 30 years, I found that Medicaid will kick in at any point that they don't. Federal Government pays 80% and State pays 20% of the bill, as it is set up right now. In this time Maggie went from a hospital to a nursing home. I counted at the end of the movie a total of 2 nurses, one doctor and one intern.

In reality Maggie would be given the choice to go home or stay in a nursing home, while entering rehabilitation. In reality, the hospital would have had a multi disciplinary staff meeting once a week only for her. Attending her and the meetings would be Physical Therapists, Cognitive Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Doctors, Nurses and a social worker all involved from the beginning. For a nursing home her multi disciplinary meetings might be every 3 weeks and her social worker should also put her in touch with advocacy. In the event she bites her tongue in half, as she did in the movie, they would not just shoot her up with drugs and wrap it. They would have a psychiatrist there on an emergency who would work with her on the continuous basis. She would get therapy and any medication she needed through him/her.

A hospital or a nursing home may not legally send a person home without a ‘safe plan'. A ‘safe plan' is everything the patient needs to live at home and be able to be safe. This could be accessibility, a wheelchair, a medical bed or all of the above; whatever the patient needs to be safe in their own home. For example, it is law in Washington State that you may not keep someone away from their home. As soon as they can go home they legally must be able to. The social worker also said it is her job to make sure that the safe plan is not disregarded by anyone. A week before I interviewed her, she had to enforce this law with a hospital when her client came home unprepared. She called the hospital and told them, “My client is not in a safe environment and you did not complete the safe plan. I have therefore sent him in the ambulance back to the hospital; he will be there in 10 minutes. You will not release him until the safe plan is actually in affect.”

In the end Maggie begged for Frankie to kill her. Scrap told him that if she died now she could go out taking that shot most wish they had and making it. Scrap sad that would be enough for him as well. This was the only time Frankie took Scraps advice, as he loaded the adrenaline into the medical bag.

With all of his savvy, money, connections and power Mr. Eastwood has he could not take the time to find out how someone can die peacefully? He basically gave her a heart attack while she suffocated; a painful death by anyone's standards.

Mr. Eastwood says this is just a story. I think it can be agreed as an actor and a director he is also an artist. If you ask any artist, they will tell you every piece of art work they do has a piece of them in it, no matter how small. Would I agree with Maggie's decision? I would like to think I wouldn't, but I have never been in such a situation. We were never given the information in this movie needed to come close to making a decision. This I feel was done intentionally. If we had been given the information about his daughter, about the help Maggie could have gotten, about how people in this situation usually do feel this way for at least a year, it would not have been so hopeless. Then we would not be forced to come to his conclusion. We might have an opinion on our own.

I left the second time with a deep sadness. Not over what MDB was but what it could have been and was not. This could have been a strong movie of truth, taking people places they normally would never go. It could have explained pain, recovery and how decisions are made when no one wants to make them. It also could have been healing; showing the strength in working around a disability and to someone out there that they are not alone. It could have showered a much needed light on navigating the ‘system'. How families gladly give up so much to save the one they love; leaving behind squabbles and problems for the immediate need of their loved one. Last but not least, the technology of the healthcare field and the goodness of many people in it. It is too bad no one else saw the potential in telling the truth.