The Natural

Directed by: Barry Levinson

Written by: Roger Towne, Phil Dusenberry (screenplay); Bernard Malamud (novel)









Some movies have good plots.  Some movies have quotable lines.  And some movies have scenes which transcend film and become iconic.  The climactic sequence of "The Natural" has become one of those scenes.

It's too bad that the rest of the film doesn't live up to that final moment.  "The Natural" isn't bad, but it's not as great as the final scene that punctuates it.

The fact is, most of the movie is slow and dry.  Even some of the more exciting moments - Bump Bailey crashing through the wall - don't feel organic or alive.  Once each step of the plot unfolds, there is only one possible direction to the next step, so there's a sense of inevitability rather than surprise.  Meanwhile, none of the characters are terribly vibrant despite what is a very strong cast, so there is really nothing left to keep the story floating.

As if that were not enough, the film is very heavy handed.  There are two very clear sides: good and evil.  The good side is perfect and pure.  The evil side is totally rotten and twisted.  There is no middle, and it is almost always obvious as to who is on which side.  All of this leads to some very obnoxious symbolism.

Still, all of this absolutely worth sitting through to get to that final scene.  That final sequence - with Roy Hobbs stepping to the plate with so much on the line, his side bleeding (there's that symbolism again) - makes the entire film an instant classic.

That iconic scene expressed the spirit imagination of every little boy who ever dreamed of playing professional baseball.  It's almost embedded in the American subconscious at this point - the swing, the crack, the lights shattering, the silhouette of Hobbs rounding the bases as he's showered in sparks.  The climax evokes the magic that makes movies worth seeing.