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Subject:
The Eastwood Universe
Author:
epistemopathy@yahoo.com
Date:
3/6/2005
Good article, however I'd say that
the theme of the film is not so much about teshuvah or euthanasia but rather that life is amoral, subject to unpredictable terrible vicissitudes, even though people try to superimpose onto it an imagined moral context. Many of Eastwood's other films have that as a running theme: in Unforgiven, A Perfect World, White Hunter Black Heart, Pale Rider. In most of these films, the illusion of a world that has an inherent morality is shattered, for a main character or for the audience.
The 'twist' in Million Dollar Baby, going from what is building up to be an inspiring rags-to-riches 'Rocky' story, with a hero (Maggie) and a villain (the German boxer), victory for the underdog, transformational healing for the trainer, etc. to sudden utter disaster is the same message as the scene in Unforgiven:
Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman): "I don't deserve this... to die like this! I was building a house! "
Bill Munny (Eastwood): "Deserve's got nothin' to do with it." [aims gun]
Little Bill Daggett: I'll see you in hell, William Munny.
Bill Munny: Yeah. [fires]
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105695/quotes
Eastwood's films (aside from his action films) are often journeys from innocence to experience... and experience often means a shattering of illusions through unexpected
or sudden tragedy. His films often attack the notion that the universe has an inherent morality, and offer the view that people who assume such a morality are either setting
themselves up for tragedy or will become the cause of tragedy. In other words, sh*t happens and don't let your
guard down.
HP
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