Saturday, January 29, 2005

One in a Million Girl

Just got back from watching “Million Dollar Baby.” If you plan on watching the film, stop reading right now! *SPOILER AHEAD*

I’m pretty much heartbroken. I usually talk shit about corny Hollywood endings and the one time that I really wanted one I didn’t get it. Maybe that’s why I can’t stop thinking about this movie. I really wanted the protagonists to have an happily ever after. You keep holding on to the hope that Maggie will be healed and when you realize that it’s all over when she loses her leg and there isn’t anything that can be done and your heart just breaks. Does anything good ever happen in Clint Eastwood movies? Maybe that’s why his films end up being so damn good; real life doesn’t always end up the way you want it to.

I also really liked that there were some Yeats references in the movie. Anytime you can work Yeats in is a good thing. And on that note, my favorite Yeats poem:

When You Are Old

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim Soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

I’ve been struggling with my writing lately but reading this poem reminds me of why I love the art so much; there is infinite possibility with words. When they come together in the right way, it takes your breath away.