Pretty But Not As Magical As It Thinks

Rating: 4/10 (3 January 2008)

Robert Redford is a good actor, but as a director I get the feeling he has never had a real human conversation in his life. Take "The Legend Of Bagger Vance".
It's about a Georgian named Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon) who marches off to World War I one of America's greatest golfers but comes back without his swing. Coaching him back is his ex-lover Adele (Charlize Theron), a boy named Hardy (J. Michael Moncrief) who won't stop believing in him, and the title figure, a mysterious caddy (Will Smith) who tells Junuh that golf, like life, is "a game that can't be won, only played."
As with other Redford films, there is no real dialogue in "Bagger Vance". There are a lot of speeches, as various characters wait for their turn in close-up and for the music to swell before unloading some great profundity. "Your Dad stared adversity in the eye, and he beat it back with a broom" "This is my last 18 holes, Junuh, and I can't think of a better way to end it." "I like the way we danced." "It was only a moment ago". Those last two lines are each repeated, in case you missed them.
I get the feeling Redford treats his actors the way his directors treated him, telling Damon and Theron "Do that again, only blonder this time". Beauty is everywhere in "Bagger Vance", and the camera and lighting work here are exceptional, but there's never a feeling of real life creeping into the corners of the frame.
What's good in this film is Moncrief, the one real Southern accent in the cast who has fun and a disarmingly non-precocious way about him. Joel Gretsch showcases a convincingly authentic swing as golf legend Bobby Jones, one of Junuh's celebrated opponents in a big match at the end. Smith is enjoyable, too, making an otherwise annoyingly tricked-up character amusing at times with his sly, subtle delivery, about the only subtle thing in "Bagger Vance". It's a shame Redford couldn't have made Bagger's true otherworldly nature more of a mystery, but then Redford isn't one to let a point go by without beating you over the head with it.
Jack Lemmon narrates and appears in a cameo role as the adult Hardy. While obviously showing signs this would be his last film role, he makes his bad club swings as fun here as he did on TV at Pebble Beach. Redford's focus on actors does pay off with this old pro, and in some other cases. Everyone acquits themselves decently, anyway, with nice moments evenly distributed here and there among the chaff. The golf action, when it happens, is shot prettily, as is the Depression-era costumes and set design.
But everything moves so slow, especially when the game is underway. "You've got an answer for everything, Bagger," Junuh says, and so he does. Or else Adele's got an answer. Or Junuh's got an answer for Hardy. These aren't people but fortune cookies with pre-formed messages when you crack them open.
Meanwhile, you wonder why no one zaps Junuh with a penalty stroke for all his on-course ruminations. Never mind. It's not really golf they're playing. It sure looks pretty, though, and that's the point.