Review - Field of Dreams (1989)

        Hey guys, Chuck here. And, it's time to talk about, quite arguably, one of the best baseball drama films ever made: Field of Dreams. Based on the bestselling novel Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella, this film from Universal Pictures was written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, and stars Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, Amy Madigan, Timothy Busfield, Dwier Brown, and Burt Lancaster. 

      The movie tells the story of Ray Kinsella, an Iowa farmer living with his wife, Annie, and daughter, Karin. One night, while walking in his cornfield, Ray hears a voice telling him "If you build it, he will come," and sees a baseball diamond in his cornfield. With the blessings of Annie, but to the confusion of others in town, Ray clears out a decent section of his cornfield to make space for a baseball field. Unfortunately, the cost of making the baseball field and lack of corn to recoup the cost leaves the Kinsella family in danger of losing everything. 

      But, one night, the spirit of legendary baseball player "Shoeless" Joe Jackson shows up on the field, and he and Ray play a little baseball. The following day, Jackson returns with other legendary baseball players, and they all play some baseball. It's around this time that Ray gets another message from the mysterious voice: "Ease his pain." And, after attending a PTA meeting, Ray is led to believe that the voice is driving him to the author and former activist Terence Mann, who is currently living in Boston. 

      Ray arrives in Boston, meets Terence, and takes him against his will to a Boston Red Sox game, and the mysterious voice returns, telling Ray to "Go the distance." Also, Ray is given a more clear objective, as he and Terence are shown the stats of a baseball player named Archibald "Moonlight" Graham, who played only one professional baseball game for half an inning, but never went up to bat. 

       Ray and Terence go to find Graham, only for Ray to learn he passed away years ago, and the spirit of Graham reveals that after his brief stint in baseball, he focused himself onto becoming a doctor and lived a full life. Ray and Terence head back to Iowa, and they pick up a young man on the way, and the young man calls himself Archie Graham. 

      Back in Iowa, Archie joins "Shoeless" Joe and the other baseball players for a game of baseball, which Ray watches with Terence, Annie, and Karin. The next day, Annie's brother Mark, who had been attempting to get Ray and Annie to sell the farm because of how much the baseball field cost, and he returns with an offer, as the bank is going to foreclose on the property as Ray can't afford the mortgage payments. However, a combination of Karin and Terence convince Ray that people will come from all over, and they will look out at Ray's field and experience the joy that baseball gives to many. However, when Karin falls and hits the ground, Archie walks off the field, grows into his elder self of "Doc" Graham, and helps clear Karin's airway of a hot dog she was choking on. Suddenly, Mark sees all of the baseball players on the field and tells Ray not to sell the farm. 

      The players make their leave, and invite Terence to join them. But, when Ray asks why he's not invited, "Shoeless" Joe reiterates what the mysterious voice told him originally: "If you build it, he will come." And, it's here where the spirit of Ray's father, John, arrives. Ray introduces John to Annie and Karin, and the two take a moment to catch up and play catch, as a string of cars make their way to the Kinsella farm. 

       Field of Dreams is one of the most emotionally powerful movies I have ever seen, and in more ways than one. The performances, especially by Kevin Costner as Ray, Ray Liotta as "Shoeless" Joe, Burt Lancaster as "Doc," and James Earl Jones as Terence, were all fantastic and delivered genuine emotional weight. Both Amy Madigan as Annie and Timothy Busfield as Mark added a dynamic to the film that was needed to offset some of the other performances. And, the emotion of the film was complimented by a brilliant score by James Horner. 

       But, it's the theme of the connection of father and son that stands out, especially in the end. Ray's journey, from building the baseball field, traveling to meet Terrence and "Doc," and how it's all tied to baseball, is all a part of Ray's journey to better understanding his late father, making the ending where Ray play's catch with his father's spirit feel like a fantastic payoff. 

       The baseball connection in Field of Dreams is also very prevalent. The actual filming location in Iowa, which includes a farmhouse that the filmmakers renovated to accommodate the film crew and equipment, is a popular tourist destination where families gather and play baseball. Heck, Major League Baseball even built a professional-grade baseball field that was in the vicinity of the actual Field of Dreams for a couple of "Field of Dreams" games, one of which saw actor Kevin Costner leading both the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees through the cornfield onto the baseball field. 

      Writer-director Phil Alden Robinson wanted to be as faithful to W.P. Kinsella's original book as possible, even to wanting to retain the book title Shoeless Joe for the movie. However, Kinsella was completely okay with the film making changes to be more cinematic, and admitted that he was never fond of the Shoeless Joe title, and had originally given the book the title of "Dream Field." So, it's poetic that the film would end up with the title Field of Dreams, which was really close to what Kinsella wanted the book to be called. 

      Overall, this is that one movie that, even if you don't have a love for baseball, everyone needs to watch at least once in their lives. If you can find it on streaming or on disc, definitely check out Field of Dreams, as it's an absolute cinematic treasure, especially for the iconic James Earl Jones speech near the end of the movie. 

      Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you in the next review.