Classic Myth Modernized

Rating: 10/10 (26 April 2008)

The original story written by Bernard Mallamud is popularly and critically considered one of the greatest sports novels ever written. This movie, while altering the ending in an opposite direction of the novel, maintains the thematic element of myth.
As a child, this was my favorite movie. It attracted me because of the baseball setting and its awe-inspiring protagonist, as portrayed by the wonderful Robert Redford. What I didn't realize at the time was its links to the classic myths of ancient Greek and English lore. Roy Hobbs is a classic Arthurian archetype; the honest, good, and completely lovable main character. Consistently throughout, Hobbs is pulled on by the forces of good (Glenn Close's character) and evil (the Boss, the murderous woman, etc.). What, I think, distances many of today's audiences is that they cannot connect with such a character; that he seems TOO good. What they forget is that Hobbs does succumb to vice; it is an allegorical vice, as portrayed by the seductress (Roy begins to fail in his game immediately afterwards) and by the Boss (greed, darkness, blindness, etc.).
Overall, this is not just another stereotypical Hollywood pile. It is an allegorical, symbolic, triumphant portrayal of good's eventual triumph over evil. One must not write this off as silly or contrived. It simply isn't.