Warner Home Video, 2004, 132 minutes
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On the night of the 77th Academy Awards, dog lovers had good reason to root for this tale of a young woman who dreams of glory in the boxing ring. That's because it's really a dog story - even though it's not ostensibly about a dog, and an actual canine appears on screen but once, briefly (in a cameo by director-producer-actor Clint Eastwood's young daughter Morgan).
With this movie, Eastwood raises the underdog story to high art. In the lean, mean screenplay, dogs are referenced too often to overlook, visually as well as verbally. Scrappy fighter Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank, in the unforgettable performance that earned her a second Oscar) saves leftovers from her waitressing job, saying "It's for my dog" - only she hasn't got one. Later, we see her wolfing down the leftovers like a starving mutt. In the ring, Maggie fights for her life, as a dog would.
How Maggie gets under the skin of tough-guy boxing trainer Frankie Dunn (Eastwood) is precisely how a stray dog wins a person's heart: with relentless persistence and loyalty. Resistance is futile: Frankie takes Maggie under his wing, and gives her a Gaelic pet name.
In one pivotal scene, Maggie recalls something her late father did for his best friend, a German Shepherd named Axel, in the dog's hour of need.
The film explores love, training, and letting go - also the main themes of dog guardianship. Seeing it will remind you of these lines from the poem "The Power of the Dog" by Rudyard Kipling: "Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware/ Of giving your heart to a dog to tear." Like loving a dog, this movie is wonderful, but be warned: it hurts, too.
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