Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Million Dollar Baby (2006)


This Million Dollar Baby movie is not about the profits made by killing of millions of babies by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America or even about a baby inheriting a million dollars. No, it’s about justifying the murder of the disabled and chronically ill.

Most of this 132 minute film is about the raw determination and courage of a woman trying to accomplish her dream to be a champion boxer. Her whole life was focused on this one pursuit. Two of my favorite actors, Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman did a great job of acting as usual. Eastwood played a crusty old boxing trainer, who begrudgingly works with a 30 something female boxer. He trains her into a first class fighter. She works her way to the big fight. In that fight she suffers a severe injury, which causes her to be completely paralyzed including kept alive by means of a respirator.

I was impressed with most of the movie, maybe the first 110 minutes or so, but was extremely disappointed with the ending, the attempted suicide and the eventual murder of a paralyzed athlete, who was the victim of dirty opponent.

The movie seemed to lead to the justification of murder and suicide. It is never the right thing to do, to play God. Really, I could accept the idea of either not turning on the artificial breathing machine or turning it off at some point, but to actively attempt suicide and then to ask a friend to put you to death is another story.

RATING

The acting and the plot I would rate as **** out of *****. But give the movie no stars for the lack of morality portrayed by how the movie ended, its final solution. Overall, then the movie would get a ** out of ***** rating. I would not recommend watching, buying or renting this movie.

COMPARISON WITH GRAN TORINO

I watched another of Clint Eastwood’s flicks again, that being Gran Torino (2008), which I reviewed earlier. That movie depicted a dying man, in order to bust a gang menacing his neighborhood and assaulting his neighbors, sacrificing his life for his friends. That is a more moral and a much more worthy way to die.

CONCLUSION

The movie, Million Dollar Baby, does force you to examine the ethical end of life issues and gives you one side, and I believe the wrong side, of the issue.


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