Mar 18, 2005 11:01 AM
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(Updated Mar 18, 2005 11:53 AM)
?I need that one shot in life to make it. Then I can die, saying, I had it and I gave it all''
That was my inner voice as I left the theatre. It was something that I had been telling myself all along in recent months. Only this time, it was much louder. Frankie, Scrap and Maggie had triggered it off once again. What was the one thing in life that I desired so much that without it, life would seem unfulfilled & empty? What was it? It was a question that left me uncomfortable and restless deep within. I had more than one. Did I have the resolve and the determination to pursue them?
Million Dollar Baby had left me in a vacuum. And I found it difficult to breathe.
Emotionally the film was raw and human. Three characters with wounded pasts - Frankie?s strained relationship with his daughter; spiritual forgiveness that was hard to come by; mistakes in life he never wanted to repeat; in Maggie he saw his daughter who he hoped to live with but lost her soon after; Scrap and his 109th bout which seriously damaged his eye; he regretted his chances of continuing; it was his life?s unfinished agenda; Maggie?s daily struggle at a diner to feed an un-supportive family. It was her self defining moment, when she decided to pursue her goal ?coz at 32 she had nothing, but her dream and someone who believed in it. She wanted to give it her best shot.
Maggie took me on a whirlwind roller coaster with her lightning fast hooks, cuts and jabs. The combination of all three gave her 12 round one K.O?s! The match sequences were naturally shot. They made me join her in every fight wanting her to win. Maggie was a bundle of style on stage and extremely attractive to watch. She was cool, unflinching, courageous and all heart. There were two things which Frankie had taught her ? ?Tough ain?t enough? and ?Always protect yourself?. She followed both till the end untill one careless moment cost her everything.
But she dreamt an impossible dream; a dream no one else saw but her and this made the journey magical for me and for her. Towards the end, one felt for her, felt for what could have been, what she could have achieved, but was never to be. That was the K.O for the audience. It knocked me out and everyone else in the theatre. The movie was all heart having deftly side stepped unnecessary heroics, jubilation and perhaps jingoism as evident in films from the cold war era. Eastwood as director was successful in showcasing the human side to the sport, so often forgotten. The acting was measured, subtle and of the highest quality. Am glad his film won the awards it did instead of Aviator.
That night inspiration, courage, focus, determination, dreams all embraced me together. I realised the importance of the value we attach to human desires. The higher the value, greater are the risks but more fulfilling the rewards. I realized the emptiness in our lives. In our daily mundane ritualistic existence, we forget to focus on activities and things that can give us genuine happiness. How many of us have found what we seek? How many of us know what we want? How many of us actually undertake the risk and pursue them? I would think very few. We all have one life. We all have one shot. What are we going to do about it? Sit back or make life worthwhile?
