The Natural (1984)

  I may have mentioned before that I am not a sports person.  This is true.  I have grown to enjoy attending certain sports, however, as there is something about the live event which is vastly more entertaining than watching it on television.  Sports movies tend to fall into one of two categories:  epic or complete crap.  The Natural might be the absolute apex of the epic category.

Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) has an incredible talent for baseball.  He is on the verge of getting signed by a Major League team when he is shot by a crazy woman (Barbara Hershey).  Her motivations are never explained and it doesn't really matter.  The point is that she wrecked his entire life.  But, sixteen years later, at the age of 35, Roy gets another shot and is signed to the New York Knights.  The team manager, Pops (Wilford Brimley), thinks Hobbs is a complete waste of his time.  What he doesn't know is that Hobbs could be the one thing that gets him out from under the oppressive thumb of The Judge (Robert Prosky).

This is so much more than a baseball movie.  You could change the window dressing and this story would work anywhere.  It's about honor, fighting for your dream, and believing that you have a purpose.  Also about the dangers of following a strange woman up to her hotel room.  I don't think that gets emphasized enough.

My mom told me to make sure I wasn't sleepy when I started watching it because it's very slow.  I can see where she was coming from, but I want to make it clear that I never once got bored with the pace.  It is something to watch when you can pay attention, certainly, because there's way more talking than playing but don't be put off by the lazy nature.  It moves like honey and is bathed in the same color light.  Cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (yes, he's their dad) did a gorgeous job capturing the hazy sunshine quality of late spring/early summer and the film really evokes the feeling of baseball season.