An Incredibly Underrated Classic

Rating: 10/10 (31 January 2012)

Every one of us has faced an adversity (or two) in our lives where we decide flight is the choice instead of fight. Events occur that knock us off our projected course and reshape us as an individual without any sense of direction of how to get back; and this is a story of one of those journeys. Rannulph Junah (Matt Damon) is an up and coming phenom golfer from Georgia who is sent off to fight in World War 1. When he returns home, his confidence is completely shattered and proceeds to spiral into the depths of alcoholism. Upon inheriting a golf course, Junah's old flame, Adele Inergordon (Charlize Theron)decides to solve the golf courses financial woes with a one-on-one golf tournament with the two best golfers in the world, Bobby Jones (Joel Gretch) and Walter Hagen (Bruce McGill). The town pleads for an addition from Savannah to represent them in the tournament and Rannulph Junah is selected. Severely reluctant, being an understatement, Junah decides to play and quickly realizes (along with everyone else) that he is a shell of his former self. One night while Junah is horrifically hitting golf balls, literally, out of nowhere appears Bagger Vance (Will Smith), and becomes Junah's caddy for the match. Using a combination of life experience and an unexplainable knowledge Bagger Vance helps Junah find what he has lost, his "swing." Director Robert Redford uses golf as a medium to explain this, painful and emotional, story of a man who once had everything and lost it all fighting for his country in World War 1. He shows us that "remembering" involves reconnecting; in this case Junah is assisted by Bagger Vance in remembering his "swing" and conquering his fears, and most importantly that whatever may be buried deep in the past was only just a moment ago. Redford uses rather deep cinematography to focus in on the symbolism of everything around us, and how listening and feeling reconnects us to what we knew. This movie is a little on the cerebral and emotional side, and involves some soul searching to connect with the true point of the film. The performances by Damon, Theron and Smith are terrific.
(The film is rated PG-13 for language and some sensuality)