THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE
Rated PG-13 - Running Time: 2:07 - Released 11/3/00
The word "legend" in the title of The Legend Of Bagger
Vance suggests mythical implications. This seems increasingly
typical of director Robert Redford, whose films have often attempted
to affix undue significance to subjects like . . . sports. Just
look at his directing career so far: of his 6 films, 3 of them
have been sports fairy tales. Before this reverential opus on
the spiritual implications of golf, Redford helmed A River
Runs Through It (fly-fishing) and The
Horse Whisperer (equestrian), and if you count films he's
starred in, you can include The Natural (baseball), The
Electric Horseman (rodeo), and The Great Waldo Pepper
(stunt flying). This guy is second only to Kevin Costner in his
fixation on athletic mythology.
I don't know how successful Steven Pressfield's novel is at
conveying the importance of a down-and-out golfer who finds his
game with the help of a supernatural caddy, but Jeremy Leven's
screenplay and Redford's direction failed to convince me. The
movie does contain some heartfelt performances, especially by
Will Smith as the titular Bagger, and tons of Redford's trademark
scenery. But beautiful sunsets and fog-filled glens, and even
good acting, can't make this film as important as it wants to
be.
The story, which takes place in the early 1930s, involves a
young golfer from Savannah, Ga., named Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon),
the winner of the 1916 Georgia Open who faded into anonymity after
suffering a horrifying experience in World War I. Following his
return home from Europe, Junuh abandoned not only his golf career,
but also his pre-war lover, the wealthy Adele Invergordon (Charlize
Theron). Ten years later, when the Depression hits, the suicide
of Adele's father (and her inheritance of his huge outstanding
debt) forces her to host a golf tournament at his newly completed
resort in order to raise money. Inviting the nation's two top
golf stars, Bobby Jones (Joel Gretsch) and Walter Hagen (Bruce
McGill), Adele promises a $10,000 purse to the winner, but her
local investors insist that Savannah be represented in the match,
and so an effort is made to convince Junuh to participate.
While he is practicing drives at night, a stranger appears
out of the darkness named Bagger Vance (Smith), who promptly begins
making snide comments about Junuh's swing and offering sage advice
on how to improve it. Surprisingly not kicking this sarcastic
stranger off his property, Junuh hires Bagger as his caddy. The
rest of the film follows the two-day, 72-hole tournament, with
Junuh attempting to compete against the two reigning kings of
the sport as well as exorcise his own personal demons, Bagger
offering everything from snide comments to sage advice, and a
starstruck boy named Hardy Greaves (newcomer J. Michael Moncrief)
following along in hushed wonderment.
With all its romantic visuals, sweeping music, and grand trappings
of the period, not to mention that it is narrated by Jack Lemmon
(as the elderly Hardy Greaves), The Legend Of Bagger Vance
seems like a vastly significant story. But it isn't. All the way
through the film, I couldn't help thinking, what's the big deal?
It's just golf, folks. Redford actually overuses the scenic
element, if that's possible, as if throwing in a picture postcard
every 5 minutes will compensate for the lack of meaning in the
plot. Damon and Theron spend most of the film at odds; their chemistry
doesn't exactly sparkle, and young Moncrief is adequate but not
outstanding. Smith is warm and personable; his character is in
a way more sympathetic than Damon's, which should really not be
the case. Damon, who has mused on the pressure of playing a role
Redford himself had originally planned to play, does as good a
job as is called for, but the script just doesn't hold up to Redford's
overindulgent directing style. Moreover, since most of the film
takes place during one two-day tournament, the requisite ups and
downs that are inherent in any sports movie must be compressed
accordingly. On this hole Junuh's behind, on that hole he's ahead,
here he bogies, now he birdies . . . it's not unlike watching
golf on TV, except everyone's in period dress.
With its release being timed as it is, I'm sure Bagger's producers (of which Redford is one) will be hoping for Oscar nominations. While it may be picked for costumes or cinematography, I can't imagine it getting a best picture nod without something more to say. ***½