Field of Dreams (1989)
The Cast
Kevin Costner .... Ray Kinsella
Amy Madigan .... Annie Kinsella
Gaby Hoffmann .... Karin Kinsella
Ray Liotta .... Shoeless Joe Jackson
Timothy Busfield .... Mark
James Earl Jones .... Terence "Terry" Mann
Burt Lancaster .... Dr. Archibald "Moonlight" Graham
Frank Whaley .... Archie Graham
Dwier Brown .... John Kinsella
There was a time back in the early 90s - around 1992 or '93 if memory serves - that I actually was interested in baseball. I'm sure that it had everything to do with a certain nationalistic pride I had in the Toronto Blue Jays winning back-to-back World Series Championships and not my actual desire to know anything about the game. Truth is, I find baseball to be boring as hell, one step above golf on my Sports I Never Watch on TV list. However I enjoy baseball movies very much, probably because thanks to editing and musical scores and such, the medium of film translates the game into a thrilling, tension-filled event. Instead of "Now there's a beach ball on the field and the bat boys are discussing which one of them are gonna go get it".
Field of Dreams is pretty much regarded as an American classic (though it was written by a Canadian), even though at points it requires much more suspension of disbelief than almost anything in Mission: Implausible III. However, all that suspension of disbelief has essentially been glossed over thanks to the opening montage, wherein Ray Kinsella (Costner) explains that he'd never done a crazy thing in his life until he heard The Voice. After hearing the afforementioned Voice, Ray ruminates over the phrase said by The Voice - "If you build it, he will come" - and ponders what on Earth "it" could be, and who "he" is. How he comes up with the idea that "it" is a baseball diamond in his burgeoning cornfield, and how "he" is "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, is not really explained. Just one of those hunches and suspensions I mentioned earlier.
More things happen that would be a sure sign to anyone in the real world that Ray is insane. The Voice implores him to do more, never explaining, only cryptically dropping a phrase or image into Ray's path. Soon he meets legendary author Terence Mann (Jones) - subbing for the original novel's usage of J.D. Salinger - thanks to one of his stabs in the dark and they're off somewhere else picking up somebody else to go along on this crazy trip. I don't even know why I'm bothering to explain the whole movie since it's 15+ years old and is a legitimate classic.
For the most part, the entire cast is excellent in the unbelievable roles they've been cast in. The ones that aren't so memorable aren't in the movie enough to harm it. I'm looking at you Gaby Hoffman. Costner holds the entire movie on his back, stringing us along with his unwavering belief in the magic of what's happening to him in a wonderfully heart-warming performance. Jones truly loves his part as a reclusive pop culture author, given a zest for life once more by Ray's incredible quest. Burt Lancaster is touching in what would prove to be his final big screen performance, bringing a lifetime of class to the picture. I'd say Ray Liotta's "Shoeless" Joe performance is the best in the entire film though, bringing decades worth of hurt into the man that was unfairly portrayed as a crooked ball player back in the 20s, when all he wanted to do was play the game.
I'm utterly shameless about loving this movie. While it doesn't necessarily make me appreciate the sport of baseball more, it makes me appreciate the fans of the game. The impact baseball has on families - just based on the most mundane event of having a catch with your dad - is incredible, much like hockey could be here in Canada. Field of Dreams makes me appreciate fans who are passionate about the game, and I only hope one day someone makes a movie like that about hockey.
5 / 5