Million Dollar Baby: The Movie’s 10 Most Powerful Quotes

Million Dollar Baby touched many hearts in 2005, and along with winning over viewers, it won many Academy Awards in the mix. The film boasts a solid cast of Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and, of course, Hilary Swank; the leading character who took home the Oscar that year for best actress.

Swank was the first actress to win an Oscar for playing a boxer–not the first gender-defying role Swank has played, as she also won the Oscar for her role as a transgender man in 2000 for Boys Don’t Cry. Her performance combines with several well-crafted factors making Million Dollar Baby so memorable, but perhaps one of the best ways to remember the film is to look back on some of its most powerful quotes.

10 “Well, You’ve Got Me.”

Frankie and Maggie ride home together after Frankie has just met Maggie’s family for the first time and witnessed what cruel people they are.

Maggie excitedly revealed that she had bought a house, only to give it away to her family as she does with most of her money. She admits at this moment that Frankie is like real family to her, more than her flesh and blood. To this, Frankie answers with the quoted line above, show how much he really cares for Maggie.

9 “Anyone Can Lose One Fight.

The message resonates throughout the film but is particularly poignant at the moment where Danger has just been horribly beaten up by the other men in the gym. The beat down only ends when Eddie steps up and defends Danger, knocking out his bully in a single hit.

While Danger lies bleeding and swollen on the mat, Eddie comforts him with these reassuring words.

8 “People Die every day, Frankie. Moppin’ Floors, Washin’ Dishes, And You Know What Their Last Thought Is? I Never Got My Shot.”

Near the movie’s end, Frankie attempts to blame himself for Maggie’s incident. After already having blamed Eddie and apologizing for it (eventually), it’s clear that Frankie is not good at accepting things as they are and feels the need to place the blame on somebody.

Eddie flips the scenario by pointing out that if Frankie had never taken on Maggie, she never would have gotten the chance to live as brilliantly as she did – even if it ended in tragedy.

7 “I Don’t Train Girls.”

There’s a subtle acknowledgment of sexism within Million Dollar Baby that seems to combat sexist perspectives of the past and yet, simultaneously, the movie still perpetuates some of them.

Maggie rising to fulfill the destiny that she promised she was capable of empowers her as a woman and yet, Frankie’s occasional comments asserting his distaste for training girls implies that he seriously believes that women are inherently more delicate than men. And yet, somehow, these words stay with viewers in both a painful and sincere way.

6 “Anytime I Feel Like It, I Can Sell That House From Under Your Fat, Lazy, Hillbilly Ass. And If You Ever Come Back, That’s Exactly What I’ll Do.”

It’s a great moment of emotional catharsis when Maggie finally stands up to her family, who only take advantage of her and treat her terribly whenever they are on screen.

Maggie is almost at the point of signing away all of her money and assets to them when her mother makes the wrong move of putting down Maggie’s performance in her last fight, which is the last straw for Maggie.

5 “Always Protect Myself.”

Over the course of the film, Frankie asks Maggie “What’s the first rule?,” which she always answers with the above quote. This serves as a sort of foreshadowing, in retrospect, to what happens to Maggie later in the film.

If she hadn’t dropped her hands and if she had been attentive instead of turning her back once she hit her opponent, she might not have fallen victim to the terrible incident that followed. The illegal hit that ended Maggie’s career was dirty fighting and against the rules, but it asserts the real meaning of Frankie’s statement: that a person can never be too trusting.

4 “The Magic Of Risking Everything For A Dream That Nobody Sees But You.”

Eddie, narrating the film through the beautiful and iconic voice of Morgan Freeman, describes the drive behind boxers and what keeps them going in an occupation that, to an outsider, seems a little crazy and even suicidal to some.

They fight through extreme pain and risk their lives, but it’s all rooted in a determination and a deep devotion to a dream only they can see. In more ways than one, boxing is a certain kind of magic.

3 “Instead Of Running From The Pain Like A Sane Person Would Do, You Step Into It.”

In many parts of the film, Eddie emphasizes the fact that everything in boxing is backwards. The sport itself is “unnatural,” and goes against human instincts by putting one’s self in danger when it’s completely unnecessary.

It’s a special type of occupation to be a boxer and it requires a unique relationship to pain.

2 “Don’t Let Me Lie Here Til I Can’t Hear Those People Chanting No More.”

Maggie’s incident is tragic. It comes at the height of her career, in a moment of glory that is quickly cut short by the interception of sudden horror.

It’s easy to focus on the terrible part of it all but in speaking to Frankie, Maggie highlights the fact that she got to live a life that was amazing and beautiful just as it was, and that dying just then would be the most respectful thing she could do for herself.

1 “Mo Cuishle Means My Darling, My Blood.”

After dodging the question for the entire movie, Frankie finally tells Maggie what the words on the back of her fighting robe meant, the words people chanted for her when she fought in the ring. All along their relationship was growing, but Frankie was never one to explicitly say how he felt.

On her death bed, he reveals that the title he gave her showed that he considered her as family to him long before she even knew it. This all but cements their genuine love for one another as more than just coach and boxer, hammering in how painful yet necessary Frankie’s succeeding actions were.