1) Outline four ways in which the film is designed to evoke an emotional response in the audience.
One way in which the film Million Dollar Baby is designed to evoke an emotional response may be due to the background of the main character, Maggie (Hilary Swank). This is because during the film the main character has lived a very deprived life, however whatever money she earns she spends on her family.
Another way in which the film is designed to evoke an emotional response within spectators may be due to the way Frankie (Clint Eastwood) treats Maggie when he first meets her. At the beginning of the film during their first Frankie encounter he treats her as if she shouldn't be there, however their relationship develops throughout the film and they become very close, Frankie begins to treat her as a daughter figure.
Also, the film evokes an emotional response at the point in the film when Frankie's top fighter leaves him to begin fighting under another manager, this creates an emotional response as Frankie gave everything to his top fighter, to have it taken away from him so easily would make the audience feel sympathy towards him.
Finally, the film evokes an emotional response through the use of the death of Maggie at the end of the film. This is because during the film the audience build up an emotional with her, and feel as if they are with her whilst she is in hospital. Maggie dies in a very unexpected way and as an audience member you can tell that the decision was hard for Frankie to make as the relationship they had built up, became one that a father and daughter would have.
2) For two of these emotional responses, explain how the film uses micro or macro techniques to achieve these emotional responses.
One micro technique used to achieve this emotional response is performance, this is used most in the final scenes of Maggie's death. This is because during this scene Frankie uses performance to convey across to the audience how upset he is by Maggie's death. Through his performance you can tell he feels responsible for the state she is in and the reason for her death, this then may give the audience a sense of sympathy and empathy towards him as they may have experienced a situation like this once in their lives.
One macro feature used in the film to achieve an emotional response within the audience is the representation of the people and the places the film was set in. The place used most in the film was the boxing gym, the boxing gym gives the film a sense of family resilience, the people used in the film help to give the film a sense that this could happen to people everyday.
3) The film could be described as a 'weepie', how far do you agree that the film is a 'weepie'?
The film could be described as a weepie film as the film takes the audience on an emotional roller-coaster, as the film makes you laugh, cry and feel empathy or sympathy towards the characters within the film. The audience build emotional relationships with characters allowing them to also experience the emotions of the characters. The film could also be described as a weepie film as it gives you a false sense of security, this gives you this false sense as you see Maggie progress throughout the whole film, the audience see where she comes from and the hardships she faces as she is not able to afford much unless she saves a few coins from tips. As an audience member you see Maggie go on her boxing journey, and to see her dream taken away from her so quickly, it will pull on the audiences heart strings and want to try and help her but they cant.
