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Movie Talk
Posted by Stephen Green  ·  14 July 2005

Couple weeks back, I tried to wind down at the end of a long day by watching "The Machinist." Made a similar mistake Thursday night, "relaxing" to "Million Dollar Baby."

Missed it on the big screen, but read just enough about it to avoid reading any spoilers. Still, I went in thinking "Baby" was a boxing movie. Yeah, and "The Bridge on the River Kwai" is all about civil engineering in Thailand. Melissa didn't want to see it, so she went upstairs to the little TV, while I took over the big HD screen downstairs.

I opened a Coke. Popped some popcorn. Got ready for a good time. Had one, too. 40 minutes in, I was so entertained that I just had to pause the movie and run upstairs to tell Melissa something.

"Honey, remember how after we watched 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,' I decided that at least one out of every five movies should be set in Savannah?"

"Yes…"

"Well, now I think that one out of five should star Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman together. Oh, and there should be some overlap with the Savannah Rule."

Needless to say, at least once each movie night my wife looks at me funny.

Then again, am I really crazy, just because I'd like to see an Eastwood/Freeman movie set in Savannah? What'd be even better is if they were the oldest members of Michael Corleone's Georgia crew. And had lightsabers.

If you've seen "Baby" already, you know what happens about 2/3rds the way through. If you haven't seen it, I won't spoil it for you. But I do know that the two most powerful movies I've seen in the last year ("Million Dollar Baby" and "Mystic River") were both directed by Eastwood. The man is good.

Anyway, I wasn't shocked by the Big Shocking Scene. Eastwood planted his clues in exactly the right places, and always in the context of the characters. What happens from there follows naturally, perfectly, dramatically, tragically. If "Baby" isn't the perfect feel-good sports movie, it's almost certainly the best feel-something sports movie.

Topping it off was Freeman's voiceover. Oftentimes, I find voiceovers distracting. Unless you're one of those people God talks to out loud all the time, you just don't hear voiceovers in real life – so I find they can remind me I'm just watching a flick. But Freeman's easy rumble sounds right anywhere. If your life could have a narrator, you'd probably choose Morgan if you could afford him.

The one surprise I didn't see coming was the nature of Freeman's voiceover. That little tidbit isn't revealed until the last line of the movie, and makes for the perfect capper.

Anything else of interest going on in the world? Hell if I know. I'll scan some headlines, sip a bit at my post-movie cocktail, and see if I can't find something.

Comments

Some folks don't like Eastwood flicks, but I really enjoy the straight-forward, minimalist, story-telling style he exhibits. "Unforgiven" is probably one of my top three favorite movies of all time; so many memorable scenes and lines.

I hear his cuurent project is the adaption of "Flags of our Fathers", the story of the Marines who raised the flag on Iwo Jima. I look forward to seeing it.

Posted by: Will Allen at July 14, 2005 11:27 PM

Morgan Freeman's voiceover is my favorite part of "Shawshank Redemption". He has a voice and style that sucks you in to the story.

He's awesome.

Posted by: cadmus at July 15, 2005 01:44 AM

I hated Midnight..Good and Evil and most of Mystic river. On the other hand, Unforgiven is a classic. Favorite lines, paraphrased.
Big Bill, I thought you were dead.
No, just living in Nebraska.
Million Dollar Baby was a good movie but nothing new. The crusty old manager abondoned by his one good prospect. The old black guy who is wise and kind and cleans the bathroom. The new monomaniacal prospect who meets a tragic end. These are time tested mainstays of fight movies. But I have to admit that Eastwood used the stereotypes well.

Posted by: Roger Fraley at July 15, 2005 08:14 AM

Funny, The Mrs. Swanky and I watched it last night, too. I enjoyed it and I agree, Eastwood and Freeman are a wonderful combination. Eastwood will be remembered for his behind-the-camera talents as much so for his acting. I couldn't help but think of how in his recent films he plays the tormented hero who has some dark past or some dark tragedy to overcome. Kinda' like Mel Gibson's near-masochistic tragedies his characters undergo, only Eastwood is so much better at it and much more believable.

Posted by: elgato at July 15, 2005 09:44 AM

Fred Thompson does good voiceover work as well, although I don't know if he's done any feature films; I'm thinking of his voiceover on the Bush bio-video at last year's convention.

Posted by: mikeski at July 15, 2005 11:51 AM

To the great voices of Morgan Freeman and Fred Thompson lets not forget the recently departed novelist and historian Shelby Foote. Now, if before Shelby had died, I had only managed to get the three of them together for dinner and an evening of conversation. How wonderful that would have been. I just hope that over time these wonderful Southern accents don't disappear.

Posted by: Mountain Man at July 15, 2005 08:50 PM

Since you enjoyed the movie, I'd suggest picking up the book on which it is based, a collection of boxing-themed short stories by F.X.Toole entitled Rope Burns. (Re-released after the movie came out as Million Dollar Baby: Stories from the Corner.)

Posted by: Mich at July 16, 2005 11:53 AM



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