The Natural
Directed by Barry Levinson. US. 1984. PG. 134 min.
- Sun, Apr 25, 2:00 pm
“Easily one of the finest movies made about baseball, Barry Levinson’s touching tale of a 35-year-old rookie’s redemption is smart, symbolic and eminently entertaining.”
“Robert Redford plays Roy Hobbs, an aspiring baseball player who is as proficient as a hitter as he is pitching. After bidding farewell to his young love (Glenn Close), Roy hops a train to try out for the big leagues. While on his journey, Roy meets duplicitous sportswriter Max Mercy (Robert Duvall) and a creepy (yet sexy) woman in black (Barbara Hershey), and a tragic twist of fate alters Roy’s life forever. Sixteen years later, Roy re-emerges for a second chance. Why was he away so long? Levinson is an astute enough storyteller to avoid divulging too much too soon. Once Roy gets his chance to play, he becomes an overnight sensation and piques the interest of an eccentric and intimidating bookie (Darren McGavin), a sexy damsel (Kim Basinger), the unquestionably evil team owner (Robert Prosky) and a certain sportswriter… who remembers Hobbs from somewhere.” (Scott Weinberg, Apollo Movie Guide)