I Love This Game (For the Love of the Game (DVD))

Member Name: christianfilm

Product:	For the Love of the Game (DVD)
Date:	30/10/06 (138 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A different type of sports film

Disadvantages: Not that many

*** Synopsis ***


Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) is a baseball legend who after playing for the same club all his life is forced to choose between retiring or transferring to another lesser club. With this in mind he starts to reminisce over all the ups and downs of his life whilst playing professional baseball, including the woman he loves, Jane (Kelly Preston), who is leaving for London. As he goes out to pitch in what could possibly be his last game, he carries on evaluating and reminiscing. But as the game goes on, it becomes apparent that he may be about to pitch a perfect game. Does he pitch the perfect game, does he retire or transfer and does he loose the love of his life?


*** Opinion ***

Films based around sports always seem to be very popular but not always worth watching. This falls into the not so popular but worth watching category, as there are several stories within in this film. The predominant story is whether Billy Chapel should retire from the game he loves and which has provided him the luxuries he loves. I presume this a question that all sports men and women must face at some point and is not an easy one for them to answer. The second story is the romance between Billy and Jane as he learns that he loves the game more than anything else, but knows that he will need to change this if he is going to keep hold of Jane. Jane also has to understand how much Baseball means to Billy and has to decide whether she can play second best to it. Another interesting story, which is important, is when Billy suffers a career threatening injury. The way he deals with it, threatens his relationship with Jane. All the stories in this film work brilliantly together as they support each other in creating this compelling sports drama.

What is it with Kevin Costner and sports dramas (Field of Dreams, Tin Cup, Bull Durham, and American Fliers)? He has always done an excellent job in these films, but I am starting to think that if he plans to do any more, he will seriously need to get himself into the gym. He gets away with it in this film, as the character is an older player, and he does do a very good job of expressing the emotions and reactions of a man who knows that his career is coming to an end. As he reminisces, you really feel for him as he remembers being taught by his dad, and the friendships he made during his career. Although I am not a huge fan of Kelly Preston, she does an above adequate Job of playing Jane. You feel for her as the excitement of dating a sports star wears off and the realization that she will probably always be second best to the game. There are some other excellent performances from other supporting cast members, such as Brian Cox.

I believe a big part of why this film works, is the excellent direction of Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, Darkman). He has captured the mood in every scene, such as the realization in the crowd that Chapel maybe out to pitch a perfect game, or the first meeting between Billy and Jane. His use of lighting and camera angle in each scene helps to convey the emotion of every scene. A good example of this is the way he focuses in on Billy when he is pitching; the sense of loneliness in the middle of the ground is achieved by the blurring of everything behind. It would have been very easy for him to fall into a trap of focusing too much on the game rather than the story, but has done a great job of using the game in just the right quantity.

The soundtrack to this film is very unmemorable, but I don't actually believe that this is such a bad thing, as it has not detracted from the story. I can't say whether a more dominant soundtrack would have been detrimental to the way this film works or not.


*** Summary ***

The film is well made and the story is very well told through the eyes of this Baseball legend. I cannot put my finger on a single bad performance in this film or a scene where I wish the director had done something different. I would strongly recommend this to anyone who likes films that make you think and have a decent meaning. Don't get this film if you want a film about Baseball, as this is purely the medium for telling the story and don’t expect the usual underdog does good style storyline, which dominates most sport-orientated movies.


*** Price & Availability ***

Amazon.co.uk: £4.97


*** Technical Details ***

Certificate: 12
Duration: 137 mins
Year of Release: 1999
Genre: Drama, Sport, Romance

Director(s): Sam Raimi
Writer(s): Michael Shaara, Dana Stevens

Cast: Kevin Costner, Kelly Preston, Brian Cox, John C. Reilly, Jena Malone, Vin Scully, Steve Lyons, Carmine Giovinazzo



© Christianfilm October 2006

Summary: A professional baseball player reminisces about his career