Going...Going...Gone!
The Natural
Cast: Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Richard Farnsworth
Director: Barry Levinson
Movie Help Web Popcorn Kernels:
An incredible cast allows Barry Levinson's The Natural to shine far beyond the schmaltz, formula and inconsistencies that ruin so many sports movies. Much of that success is due to Levinson's beautiful directing, but the cast headlined by Robert Redford, also deserves many kudos. This is a film baseball fans will want to watch, but those who like a nice love story as a side plot will also enjoy the film.
Filmed in 1984 when novelist Bernard Malamud was 70, The Natural reaches back to the glory days of baseball when it truly was America's pastime. Not having read Malamud's original book, I cannot comment on his original characters nor speak to Levinson's translation of the story from the original, but there is plenty to like here and, unfortunately, just as much to dislike.
An All Star Lineup
Robert Redford had already tried his hand at directing and producing when it came time to film The Natural, but like his Roy Hobbs character, his character is the biggest part of this film. Superb performances from stalwarts such as Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Richard Farnsworth, a young Kim Basinger and Wilford Brimley are merely accents to the Bobby Redford show.
Playing a middle-aged man derailed from apparent baseball stardom, Redford's character shows the grittiness one would expect in a character whose singular dream is shattered before the untold potential is ever tapped.
The presence of Barry Levinson, a great director who wrings the most out of any ensemble cast helps the actors play off each other's strengths to counter some of Redford's overwhelming presence. Perhaps the most striking example of this is the use of Robert Duvall's character as an important counter to the good and evil characters present in this fable. As in his role in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, Duvall careens between both camps of actors, equally adept at dealing with both while maintaining a naked self-interest that has not been seen since his days as Marlon Brando and Al Pacino's consigliore.
Not All Is Well In Mudville
In addition to the superb acting, viewers are well advised to enjoy the period settings, especially Levinson's nice mix of newsreels, costumes, faux newspaper headlines and other clips that lend the movie historical authenticity. That is because the story itself is Schmaltz with a capital S that can easily leave someone with the feeling that a dentist has left a bubblegum-flavored fluoride treatment in their mouth too long.
The cloying story evokes imagery in the form of convenient lightning storms signaling the advent of Something Important while Redford's Hobbs battles blood that is inexplicably seeping through his uniform. A long movie, clocking in at 2 hours and 14 minutes, one suspects that many of the dangling loose ends simply landed on the cutting room floor in the interest of bringing the movie in under 150 minutes.
Cuts made for the sake of time can be forgivable, but little can be said to absolve Levinson from taking a story with a mystery (why are athletes being shot) and not explaining that subplot. Equally unforgivable are Robert Prosky's evil judge and female sidekick who should have been portrayed in a much grittier fashion than the cartoon-like bad guy schtick they perform.
Then there are simple inconsistencies that make no sense. One glaring example is Hobbs' too-convenient-to-be-true meeting with Babe Ruth while on his way to the major leagues. Ruth's character, performed well by a bulked-up Joe Don Baker, is inexplicably referred to as The Whammer. There were undoubtedly clearances involved with using Ruth's name, but the substitution is a glaring hole in a film that prides itself on setting historical context.
The Bottom Line, Unpopped Kernels and All
Baseball is ultimately a sport that often falls prey to cliché when translated to film, and The Natural is no exception. Convenient plot developments and some downright silliness (Michael Madsen's Bump Bailey dying after crashing into an outfield wall) ultimately mar what is a gorgeous film that is well acted. Baseball fans and fans of the leading cast members will want to see this film, but those looking for better schmaltz should consider Field of Dreams while more authentic baseball can be found in Bull Durham or Eight Men Out.
Five Things To Remember From This Review
1. The Natural was well known writer Bernard Malamud's first novel and originally published in 1954.
2. IMdb suggests the story is loosely based on the story of Sir Percival. Yes, the Arthurian.
3. Look for an All-Star cast including Redford, Duvall and Glenn Close.
4. Barry Levinson dresses his sets well, but misses on plot continuity.
5. Watch this for a helping heaping of clichés.
