Allegorical tale of a athlete's career at it's last roar

Rating: 8/10 (9 January 2007)

Eighteen-year veteran major league pitcher Billy Chapel(Kevin Coaster,big surprise)has played for--and only for--the Detroit Tigers. He is in the twilight of his career and facing the very real prospect of either being traded(something he is dead-set against)or forced retirement(something he wants to forestall as long as possible).His last start of the season is against the storied and hated New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium,and as he faces a hostile crowd and a formidable opponent,Billy proceeds to pitch the game of his life:namely,a perfect game(for non-baseball fans:no hits,no walks,no runners.Nada). With only his catcher and friend Gus(the always strong John C.Reilly)and his sturdy,grumpy manager(J.K.Simmons)as his confidants,he weathers this storm alone with his thoughts.
His thoughts bring him to review his most recent relationship with a pretty divorcée(Kelly Preston)who doesn't follow baseball and her painfully normal daughter(Jena Malone). At this juncture,they're at a bit of a break,and there's no telling if they'll be a couple again.
Directed by(of all people)horror/action movie wiz Sam Raimi,For Love of the Game teetered dangerously close to being a sappy love story OR a overly sentimental Baseball movie,but it manages to avoid either if but barely. The rhythm of this film impressed me the most:with each laborious inning of pitching,you the viewer are walked through the event as if you were out there on the mound with Costner's character. I've grown past weary with Costner's career over the fifteen-plus years since he won the Oscar for DAnces With Wolves,and whenever he tries to stretch past being the handsome jock-turned-hero-next door,it can be any degree of painful/laughable to watch(try Waterworld,The War or Robin Hood:Prince of Thieves for examples). But here,he's perfect as the beaten but proud athlete,and the parallels between his game,his career,and his life in general(particularly his love life)are well plotted,which may be as much a credit to screenwriter Dana Stevens and(in part)the novel by Michael Sharaa as it is the actors and directors.This movie requires some patience,but when given,this will more than likely draw the viewer in.