Assess what it helps you create, assess the damage it does if you let it be free, harness it and channel it. Understand the way you tick, the way you work, when you feel that wave of emotion, own it, label it, indulge and experiment with it. So often I cloud myself with emotion, blame it on any which aspect you like, I’m a Gemini, I’m an only child, I’m a woman, call it how you like it, none of the above offends me, and it shouldn’t offend you either. “Sometimes the best way to deliver a punch is to step back…” for me, this speaks to the art of detaching, for me specifically, this speaks to emotion. ( Yes, I’ve fought my fair share of Frazier’s, so have you, don’t discredit yourself.)ġ. But that line, it has a strange way of lightly tapping me on the shoulder in the middle of my greatest battles, my cyclical thriller in Manila. Sometimes it’s your turn to struggle and claw your way through an era, and sometimes it’s your turn to bask in the glory of the moment. Now, there is no one that believes more in the trends of life. I like to call it the slump, the trough, the stagnation. How often is it that we’re so entwined in a situation, in a problem, that all we seem to be doing is treading water. But from the moment it rang in my ears, I heard the depth of that statement, it imprinted on my soul and to this day has never left me. But the one line that stayed with me, for years to come, that has popped into my mind all along my short path of life was this “ sometimes the best way to deliver a punch is to step back… But step back too far and you ain’t fighting at all.”įrankie ( Maggie’s trainer played by the legendary Clint Eastwood) is talking about her form, her style. Ably supported by his usual backroom staff, notably DoP Tom Stern, Eastwood's striking framing has the muscular simplicity and directness of Ernest Hemingway's prose the twist in this tale is that the embodiment of American manliness is a girl from hillbilly country.Million Dollar Baby, the movie that stole our hearts as we watched the rags to riches, heart wrenching journey of Maggie, the unlikely underdog turned hero of a grungy boxing gym and underrated, past-his-prime boxing coach.Ī plethora of profound words to-live-by and life altering dialogue wash over me as I watch in awe of this woman’s determination, drive and unwillingness to hear “ No” or “ You Can’t”. With the easy confidence only a true vet can possess, Eastwood tells his story at his own unhurried pace, in his own unadorned style. Even if you do see it coming - and it's best not to look - Baby's final blow should still floor you, a shot to the gut that will wring tears from the toughest guy in the gym. All the bobbing and weaving is clearly intended to put the audience off-balance, blinding seasoned pros to the sucker punch that Eastwood has been cocking all along. And Million Dollar Baby's dancing is not entirely in vain. However, Eastwood employs the space cleared by Dupris to explore character in ways that standard Hollywood-movie time simply would not countenance. His intermittent voiceover, meanwhile, dispenses homilies that might make Shawshank's Red blush. In what is essentially an odd-couple drama charting the well-worn contours of seasoned trainer and spunky protege, Morgan Freeman's salty sidekick is elevated to a third leading part principally to provide a semblance of narrative control. And Eastwood himself stepped in at short notice, moving his Mystic River crew onto the project with virtually no prep time. The adaptation is the first produced screenplay by Paul Haggis, a decorated TV writer best known for creating offbeat Mountie comedy Due South. The source material is a short story from a debut collection by 69 year-old fight insider F. Put together on the fly, with little pedigree to speak of, Million Dollar Baby is the movie equivalent of a no-hoper handed a title bout. Were it simply a thumping two in a swift one-two, Million Dollar Baby would be impressive enough, but as a rueful rumination on sin and absolution, Eastwood's new Baby boldly measures up against the director's undisputed champion: Unforgiven. Without so much as a decent shower break following Mystic River's victory lap, Clint Eastwood rejoins the awards fray touting another heavyweight contender.
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