The Natural (1984)

A young baseball player (Robert Redford) leaves Nebraska for a tryout with the Chicago Cubs. It is on his way that he meets a mysterious, psychotic beauty (Barbara Hershey) who shoots him. He disappears for 16 years and then, no longer young and promising, he attempts a return to the world of professional baseball. Based on the novel by Bernard Malamud (THE FIXER) and directed by Barry Levinson (DINER). The film's screenplay makes some major changes to the Malamud novel. Notably, Malamud's downbeat ending is now a victorious happy ending. Reputedly, Malamud had no problem with the movie version of his book. The movie is a fable and perhaps not to be taken literally. Yes, the film leans toward sentimentality but there's a magical element to it that justifies that sentimentality. I liked it very much and was absorbed for the entire running time and this is coming from someone who has zero interest in baseball. The score by Randy Newman is terrific. With Glenn Close (in an Oscar nominated performance), Robert Duvall, Kim Basinger, Richard Farnsworth, Darren McGavin, Joe Don Baker, Michael Madsen, Wilford Brimley and Robert Prosky.