In the movie Million Dollar Baby we meet an ambitious young woman named Maggie who tries to convince a trainer, Frankie to teach her to box. In the movie at first, we see Maggie facing an external conflict with Frankie because he refuses to train her because she is a woman. Maggie starts showing her face around the gym more and shows an effort, soon she convinces Frankie to coach her and they become quite close. Maggie starts to become an impressive boxer over time and starts to win matches. We see the story come to a turn at the end when she is hit unfairly in the back of the head and falls on a stool leaving her paralyzed. The theme of the story holds a lot of past regrets and hope for both of the main characters.
Frankie and Maggie meet when Maggie is lent a speed bag to practice on that belongs to Frankie. He confronts her about using his bag but ends up letting her continue practice with the speed bag even though he is embarrassed to be seen lending a girl his equipment. Here we see a little bit of sexism on Frankie’s part because he doesn’t want to train girls because he looks at females boxing as a joke. Maggie convinces Frankie to train her if she does everything he tells her and doesn’t ask questions. Soon, we see Maggie and Frankie’s relationship bloom as they grow closer and learn more about one another.
Maggie is working at a restaurant as a waitress and not making much money. Frankie advises her to start saving her money and advising her. The relationship between Frankie and Maggie turns into a father-daughter and teacher-student partnership as they train more and become friends. As Maggie starts winning more matches Frankie’s confidence and faith in her starts to build and soon she becomes an asset to him. After Maggie’s accident, we see how much Frankie did love her like a daughter when she asked him to let her leave the earth by his hand, and he agrees. When Frankie disconnects the oxygen machine and injects her with a lethal shot he simply walks out of the scene and we don’t hear from him again. Frankie disappears I think because he is so heartbroken about the death of Maggie as well as the death of her boxing career. I think Frankie disappears because boxing broke his heart and he realizes the sport has only hurt him.
I love the feminine theme of the movie because it shows how women can be just as courageous and swift in the boxing ring as men. Maggie grows to become a very strong fighter inside and out. She starts training more vigorously for her fights making her physically stronger. As well as in the end when she has to confront her mother in the hospital we see her emotional and mental strength break through. Maggie battles her injuries in the hospital but in unsuccessful. But her bravery in the fights also shows in the hospital when she is ready to die. She is not scared at all to die, but she is ready and not scared. This shows that she is a strong physical and spiritual fighter.
In this movie I’ve learned that Frankie was also spiritually strong when he has to let Maggie die. He does not like the decision the Maggie makes to die but he respects it and sees that she would be better off in a happier place. I think this was very selfless of Frankie because he wanted to keep her alive in the hospital, but Maggie felt so miserable all she wanted to do was slip away and be with god. I saw Frankie as being very honorable as he respected Maggie’s wishes to depart the earth. This movie portrayed a hard working woman in a male dominated environment come through on top in her boxing career and her bravery.