Review of The Natural (1984) by Mat N — 03 Feb 2012

Let's get one thing straight....i don't really dig baseball.....but i've watched this film countless times. There's something mystical / magical about this story.For one thing Roy Hobbs has carved a bat out of a tree that was struck by lightening when he was a boy.

He calls his special bat 'Wonder Boy'. Early on in the story we see that Roy has a 'natural' talent for baseball.....but the young man's dreams are bought to an sudden end.....Years later, well passed his prime, he re-enters the game.

....but nobody wants some old man batting for their team.....The Natural is simply a wonderful movie, greatly underrated by the Academy when the Oscars were handed out. Looking back, it is unbelievable that this fine film received not even a single Oscar nomination.

Outstanding, beautifully understated performances across the cast create an emotional atmosphere that draws you in each and every time you watch the film. Randy Newman's magnificent soundtrack has the power to move you at all the right moments, and the camera work is beautiful - just watch the backlit, "haloed" Glenn Close stand up during a crucial moment in a game and try not to be impressed.

A fundamental knowledge of baseball is helpful but not essential, for the real message is not in the game, but in the lessons in life Robert Redford's character, Roy Hobbes ("The Natural" in the story) learns along the way.

This is not just a sports film, it is a love story - and in more ways than one. As Roy reflects upon his life late in the film, he says "Some mistakes I guess you never stop paying for." Well thankfully, the long-standing mistake of not bringing The Natural out on DVD has been rectified at last.

The Natural has always one of my top all-time movies, and on DVD it has come of age. I highly commend it to anyone who loves the thrill of the gladiatorial showdown in sport, anyone who loves a good old-fashioned love story, and anyone who maybe has lost their way in life and needs to believe in something or even themselves again.

Finely crafted, deeply moving, classic story telling at its finest. Buy it and be enchanted.