Writer-Producer Mark Frost and director Bill Paxton delivered a powerful, old-fashioned drama of an unlikely hero you can't help but root for. Stallone's achievement with "Rocky" confirmed the enduring emotional lift such stories can achieve on screen, and three decades later this real-life golf story confirms that fact -holding up well yet 20 more years since.
The late, great actor Bill Paxton got solid, underplayed performances from his cast, LaBoeuf, Dillane and clearly Elias Koteas as our proletarian hero's unyielding dad.
I see the Disney release was not successful at the box office -a bit out of step with then-current tastes. Whether made by Redford ("Bagger Vance") or in this case just one of two features directed by Paxton before his untimely death, it seems the public has moved on from the simple, intrinsic values of movies where the little guy bucks the system and conquers. Splashy SPFX and superheroes, however infantile, now rule the roost.
The late, great actor Bill Paxton got solid, underplayed performances from his cast, LaBoeuf, Dillane and clearly Elias Koteas as our proletarian hero's unyielding dad.
I see the Disney release was not successful at the box office -a bit out of step with then-current tastes. Whether made by Redford ("Bagger Vance") or in this case just one of two features directed by Paxton before his untimely death, it seems the public has moved on from the simple, intrinsic values of movies where the little guy bucks the system and conquers. Splashy SPFX and superheroes, however infantile, now rule the roost.