Umberto Eco said of Casablanca,
"Thus Casablanca is not just one film. It is many films, an anthology. [...] When all the archetypes burst in shamelessly, we reach Homeric depths. Two cliches make us laugh. A hundred cliches move us. For we sense dimly that the cliches are talking among themselves, and celebrating a reunion."
I could not help but think of this quote as I watched Million Dollar Baby, a film I had not seen before today. 'Archetypes' is the perfect way to describe the characterization in this film, from the gruff, grizzled, hiding-a-secret trainer to the plucky, determined heroine fighting against everything that's ever beaten her down in her life. It got me to wondering about the nature of cliches and why sometimes we reject them and sometimes embrace them. Million Dollar Baby's plot twists are not always predictable, necessarily, but they're certainly not unexpected either, as its archetypes navigate through thick and thin. We're still left with thoroughly unpeople in this film.
Making the film more cliched was Hilary Swank's hateful, money-grubbing family, who may as well be wearing Evil hats throughout the film. I have always wondered about Hollywood's portrayal of the Midwest and South - I don't live in either of those places, nor have I ever, but it always feels tremendously condescending.
What salvaged the film for me are the acting performances, which are all great, and the story is a nice self-contained unit that gets across everything it wants to. I understand why the film won an Oscar; it is throughout a Hollywood-created fantasy, on all the fictions Hollywood makes us believe because we so badly want to.
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I may be the world's biggest Clint Eastwood fan, and I liked this movie a lot, but your complaint about the family is right on the money. That's pretty much my only criticism of the movie. It could have been one of my all-time favorites if that portion hadn't been so hackneyed.
ReplyDeleteDid you know what was going to happen to Sawnk before watching? I had no idea, and I'm sure that's part of why I liked it as much as I did.
it's funny, this is the first clint eastwood film i've ever seen.
ReplyDeletei've always heard this movie described as super-depressing, but had not actually heard about what happens. once there was that kind of anecdote about the female boxer who was dirty, i pretty much knew what was coming (at least the whole debilitating injury thing). i'm not one of those people who spends time trying to guess what happens in movies, but that kind of disappointed me.
First Clint Eastwood movie you've ever seen? How is that even possible? I assume you mean movies he's directed? That's stunning. But if you never seen a movie he acted in either, then I don't even know what to say.
ReplyDeleteHe's directed a bunch of really, really good stuff. "Unforgiven" could be my all-time favorite movie, then there's "Mystic River", "Changeling", "Letters from Iwo Jima", "Gran Torino" and "The Outlaw Josey Wales" which are all excellent, plus several other quality Westerns.
As for the plot twist, yeah in retrospect it was easy to see it coming. But I'm good at turning my brain off and enjoying the ride. I almost never see anything coming unless I go into a movie with the goal of figuring it out.
i think i've never seen any clint eastwood movie of any sort, unless you count 'revenge of the creature', a mystery science theater episode i once saw that had eastwood in a tiny uncredited role.
ReplyDeletefor some reason, his films have just never interested me. i'm starting to slowly get into westerns, so unforgiven and outlaw josey wales will probably appear soon enough. i've always wanted to see outlaw josey wales after its reference in rounders (true story).
Stunning revelation. I'm going to resist the urge to bombard you with Clint recommendations and instead just say I'm looking forward to your reviews of more of his movies.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have a picture of Clint as Josey Wales on my desk.
unforgiven is fine, but not quite what it could have been.
ReplyDeletei'm not going to resist the urge. you've got to watch the sergio leone westerns, at least a fistful of dollars and the good, the bad, and the ugly.
i totally agree, ian. good, the bad, and the ugly is on my queue, and once i see that one, a fistful of dollars will get added.
ReplyDeleteI think Unforgiven and GB&U are in a class by themselves when it comes to Westerns, and both are in the running for my favorite movie ever. The other two Dollars movies and Josey Wales are also safely in my top 10 Westerns.
ReplyDeleteI'm such a Clint fanboy.
I've never really been into Westerns, but listening to you guys talking about them has piqued my interest. I'm gonna put GB&U on my list since it's one that I've heard of.
ReplyDeleteNearly everyone would say GB&U is better, but Unforgiven might be more accessible to someone who isn't a Western fan. GB&U moves very slowly at times, so if that isn't your cup of tea it might not be the best place to start. But it's a great, great movie.
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