Piece of work

Rating: Null/10 (30 April 1999)

Of course there is the shot that everyone remembers. The lights breaking, fireworks in the air. But that's just one of the great moments in this movie. You would think that after watching so many sports movies, the little tricks would present themselves. Not in the Natural. Every shot, every scene is so well-lit, well accompanied by Randy Newman's score, and so darn well acted by Robert Redford, that everything works. I've been a semi-Redford fan all my life, but I must say that this one is one of his very best. He gives the character a depth that many others couldn't, without him, Roy Hobbs might have been a caricature, a goody-goody. Instead, he gives Roy a youthful force in the beginning of the movie, and after a pivotal moment, we see the age he has accumulated, the weight of his dying dream hanging firm to his shoulder. We see an actual change in him. For the worse. But we still see that grin, that grin not only brings back the youthful Roy we saw in the beginning, but it awakens the young Roy we all have inside. The scene I will remember most is not the ending, that's incredible enough, its a scene in the middle, one that might have gotten lost but Levinson the director, not one to ignore the small scenes that make up a story, films it in a way that keeps you in the right frame of mind. The scene is when the manager lets Roy play. It takes place in the tunnel to the clubhouse, and Levinson doesn't light it at all, its taken in a darkness, the only light at the end of the tunnel. but at the right moment we cut to a close shot of Roy reacting to the news he can play. This shot is filmed with bright light on his face, a sharp change from the shot before. This light makes Roy's face shine, and I don't believe anyone can dispute that they didn't get a little thrill out of that scene. All in all a masterful performance by all involved (including Robert Duvall in a nice neat role, and Glenn Close, the woman in white, Kim Basinger is also good). I highly recomend.