esrosedotblog

GRAND SLAM

It is hard to write about today's NYTimes Best 1176 Film Field of Dreams (1989) because so many of us have seen it and been deeply touched by it. It is a delicate film in many ways and yet, by the end, it is a four bagger; a solidly hit home run.

There are many elements in this. There is the simple life of a farming couple. The disillusionment of the sixties. The enduring innocence of baseball. The story behind the story of Shoeless Joe Jackson. Unresolved father stuff.

There are peerless performances by Kevin Costner and Amy Madigan as the young couple. James Earl Jones, for once, is able to harness his great talent and peerless pipes for a realistic essay of a burnt out writer who secretly loves the game. Burt Lancaster appears in a gem like role with its own surprises.

I sat and squirmed through the early parts of it worried that, having seen it, the film had been ruined for me. Not to worry. I was caught after about 15 minutes and did not let go until the wonderful ending.

I had forgotten that there were so many meanings to the now universal catchphrase "build it and he/they will come". There are also a few other 'whisperings' as well that have many meanings.

This is one of those lifetime movies that need to be seen every 5 or 10 years. Just long enough to sort of forget the details.

I will give it a 5 out of Netflix5.