The Natural

Directed by Barry Levinson, The Natural follows Robert Redford’s Roy Hobbs as he attempts to make a name for himself as a thirtysomething baseball player in the late 1930s. Filmmaker Levinson, armed with Roger Towne and Phil Dusenberry’s screenplay, delivers an exceedingly deliberate yet mostly satisfying drama that admittedly grows more and more absorbing as it progresses, and there’s little doubt, certainly, that The Natural ultimately fares much, much better than the often astonishingly tedious Bernard Malamud novel on which it’s based – with the picture benefiting substantially from its sporadic emphasis on decidedly electrifying sequences. (The now-iconic final baseball game is just as rewarding and satisfying as one might’ve anticipated, ultimately.) And although it does suffer from a handful of palpable lulls, with the 138 minute running time certainly not doing the film any favors, The Natural‘s consistently watchable atmosphere is perpetuated by such above-average attributes as Randy Newman’s memorable score, Caleb Deschanel’s lush visuals, and, of course, Redford’s magnetic, engrossing lead performance – with the actor’s sterling turn certainly matched by an impressive supporting cast that includes Wilford Brimley, Glenn Close, and Robert Duvall. The end result is a solid adaptation that generally fares much, much better than one might’ve initially anticipated, and it’s not terribly difficult, in the final analysis, to discern why the movie is considered one of the most indelible baseball pictures of all time.

*** out of ****