No
hole-in-one for 'Greatest Game’
By Bradley Zint
Online Forty-Niner
Opinion Editor
“The Greatest Game Ever Played” may not be the greatest movie ever
made, but nevertheless tells an interesting story about golf, class struggles
and ambitions.
Unfortunately, the film did not deliver the level of satisfaction its trailer
did, providing additional evidence of why the people who make great trailers
should be making equally great movies.
After watching the entire film, I could not help but notice its flaws. This is
a feel-good kind of flick, and do not get me wrong, I love these kinds of films. “Rudy” is
one the best movies ever made, in my humble opinion.
But “The Greatest Game” is no “Rudy,” or even “The
Legend of Bagger Vance,” though “Vance” and this film share
many similar qualities. This is no surprise considering they are both about golf.
The strong aspects of this film, despite its flaws, are easy to see and make
moments of the story shine but do not ultimately bring the film into the A-list
category. The acting overall is solid, with few exceptions.
Shia LaBeouf as the main character, Francis, comes across well as an idealistic
youngster with a relentless passion for the game. His outspoken, corpulent little
caddy Eddie, played by Joshua Flitter, often steals scene and offers a pint-sized
tough attitude in a golf world dominated by prickly adults.
The one character playing the role as mentor to Francis was supremely underdeveloped.
Here is the wise old man Jungian archetype, placed in the story to right the
wrongs but instead did practically nothing but stare around blankly. He is comparable
to an Obi-Wan Kenobi who leaves his lightsaber at home and forgets how to tap
into the Force.
This movie was at high risk of being too cliche, and while at times it is, it
does make a noticeable effort to incorporate new elements. Some of the special
effects, including a memorable digital ladybug and many frantic time-lapse scoreboard
sequences give this movie ingenuity.
However, one can’t help but stop and think of “The Legend of Bagger
Vance” when the camera goes into first-person mode and all the watching
audience disappears, leaving only the course in sight for the golfer. After “Vance,” this
tool seems rather formulaic, especially for another golf movie.
What the film does do, however, is provide some interesting insight into the
aspects of golf non-golfers might not realize.
Behind the expensive clothes and
slow playing speed, the so-called “gentleman’s” game of golf
can have intensely bitter rivals for a sport, which ironically quips about throwing
punches.
Otherwise, the main themes of the movie reflect typical class struggles, the
prestige and image skirmish between the rich elite and hard-working middle to
lower class.
Golf, seen a symbol of privileged elite in the film, is portrayed
as something Francis, who is of the working-class, can never succeed in because
of his status. The movie ultimately shows us just how wrong that assumption is.
The film also is a story of pessimism versus optimism. Francis’ father,
the central pessimist, instills in his son the value of a day’s wage that
overrides lofty dreams.
He tells him those rich golfers are not like them, that “a
man finds his place in the world and makes peace with it.”
While those words do ring true, the story revolves around Francis’ efforts
to find his place in the world as a champion golfer amidst men of higher status.
It is hard to pinpoint what keeps this movie, in my mind, at a B level. Perhaps
it is a lack of consistently good dialogue.
Unfortunately, the film’s best
lines were already heard in the trailer, leaving few others to look forward to.
Or maybe it was a few weak elements (including a practically non-existent love
interest) or maybe even a lack of a memorable melody that flourishes key scenes
in the old-fashioned Hollywood tradition.
Whatever it is, “The Greatest Game Ever Played” is still quality
filmmaking with many great scenes. The real tragedy is realizing it only needed
a little extra push to categorize it in the fantastic file.
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