Very rarely, you see a film that means one thing when your father is alive, and another when he is dead. When I first saw this movie, my father was still alive, we had not spoken for 8 years, and I thought, cute, but it knows nothing about real life ! When I saw it again, he had been dead for over a year, and I cried like a baby.
I'm English, so for me the baseball element was lost, but what did hit home was the awareness that we are all flawed people, and the expectations we have for our parents, are way and beyond what we achieve ourselves as we grow older.
The film is not about baseball, it is about a second chance ! An opportunity to say hiya Dad, I was didn't know then, but I'm older now and understand more about the way the world works.
In terms of the film, Cosner has never had a better role, Lancaster as Doc Graham finally showed what a great actor he really was, and James Earl Jones was simply perfect.
In short a great film, James Horner's theme music is wonderful, the visuals are fantastic, the acting is as good as you could hope to see.
For most this is a feel good movie, for me this is a reminder that it is never too late to make amends, I just miss my Father
