Great mythmaking

Rating: 9/10 (8 July 2018)

The Legend of Bagger Vance is about golf in the same way that Field of Dreams was about baseball--that is, hardly at all. This film has the mystic symbolism of Field of Dreams, the sense of time and place of A River Runs Through It, and the triumph of spirit that is at the center of most of my favorite films. It might be an accident that the number of holes played in this epic showdown is about the same as the number of years we get in the big game (on average), but this film is quite clearly about the game of life.
Matt Damon plays Rannulph Junuh, a promising golfer from Savannah whose prodigious career is interrupted, and ultimately diverted, by World War I. He comes back from the war changed, and neglects both his game and his girl as he attempts to drown his sorrows by killing off brain cells little by little. When the Great Depression hits, the whole town of Savannah is devastated and Adele attempts to save the family estate by staging an epic golf match on the golf course her father had designed. The two greatest golfers of the time are enticed to play in the epic, but the town wants Junuh in the game too, to represent Savannah.
Young Hardy Greaves has been a fan of Junuh's almost since birth and Hardy does his best to convince Junuh to enter the fray. When Hardy fails, Adele also tries and also fails, but then Junuh meets Bagger Vance--caddy, wisdom teacher, and philosopher extraodinaire. To say much more about the relationship that develops would be to give away too much of the suspense that propels the story forward. Suffice it to say that Will Smith's portrayal of Bagger Vance is an intriguing mix of Cheech Marin in Tin Cup and Obi Wan Kanobi in Star Wars.
It is the mythic dimension that makes this a satisfying film. Like two of his previous films (The Horse Whisperer and A River Runs Through It), this film is best when viewed as myth and metaphor. The brilliant cinematography by Michael Ballhaus contributes to the mythic feel of the film. If there is a flaw in the film it is a relatively minor one. As in A River Runs Through It, director Redford chose to tell this story as one long flashback using extensive voice-over narration. Especially in the beginning of the film, I found this to be intrusive and a bit distracting.
Aside from this minor flaw, this is a wonderful film about grace and redemption, with rich images and refreshing themes. As I left the theater I ran into an acquaintance who is an avid golfer. He said, "I've played courses just like that one." I don't golf at all, so it is a real tribute to the mythic qualities of the film that I was able to walk away saying to myself "me too, me too."