Too long but the performances are so good, and it does just enough to make this a solid movie

Rating: 7/10 (14 September 2013)

(Plot) A highly touted, once in a lifetime prospect has his career taken away from him. He reappears out of nowhere for another crack at greatness, but there seems to be some real divine magic at work, considering his age.
I wanna get this out of the way. I enjoyed this film quite a bit. It has a certain old school charm that manages to consume you throughout most of the duration. My problem is actually with the duration itself. It's over two hours long, and I felt they could have easily cut it a little bit. Especially Redford & Basinger's scenes, which I felt droned on a bit. I think viewers could easily tell where it was going, and trimming it would have been more effective. This is also the type of film where you will have to suspend your belief quite a bit, but hey. That's the magic of movies. It also has big hints of "divine intervention" throughout the film. I loved the cinematography, and the baseball action is often very exciting. Robert Redford plays this perfectly low- key, and proves why he is one of the greatest actors. He is our hero, and he was a main reason why I didn't tune out from the very long running time. He was excellent. Glenn Close doesn't have as big a role as you may think. She has a much bigger part in the second half. Close was good as per usual, even if her character was a bit underdeveloped. Robert Duvall is good as the nosy reporter. Duvall's range is near untouchable at times. Wilford Brimley is excellent as the grumpy coach with a heart of gold. Kim Basinger is effectively cold in her performance, but I felt some of her scenes were not needed. Barbara Hershey has a really quaint character. It's hard to describe her , but she did well. Joe Don Baker elicits memories of Babe Ruth. I wish he had more screen time.
Final Thoughts: It's a bit of a strange film in all honesty, and much too long, but I did enjoy it quite a bit. It's definitely well made, engrossing, and the cast is awesome. Recommended!
7.5/10