Only few films have the honour of being instantly recognisable by simple line of dialogue. One of those is *Field of Dreams*, 1989 fantasy drama written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson and nowadays best known for words “If you build it, he will come”.
The plot is based on the *Shoeless Joe*, novel by Canadian writer W. P. Kinsella. Protagonist, played by Kevin Costner, is Ray Kinsella, middle-aged man who lives on a quiet farm in Iowa with his wife Annie (played by Amy Madigan) and young daughter Karin (played by Gabby Hoffman). His ordinary life begins to change when he starts hearing voice that tells him to build something if he wants someone to come. After a while, he receives a vision that that something is actually a baseball field. He actually builds in the middle of his farm and after a while mysterious figure appears and it is revealed to be ghost of “Shoeless” Joe Jackson (played by Ray Liotta), legendary baseball player whose career was ended by infamous 1919 scandal. Joe and his fellow players from Chicago White Sox come and play on the field before Ray receives another message that he interprets as a sign to start seeking Terence Mann (played by James Earl Jones), famous writer who used to be leading figure in 1960s counterculture only to become jaded recluse. Ray nevertheless manages to talk Mann into joining his quest that, following another message, leads to Dr. Archibald “Moonlight” Graham (played by Burt Lancaster), old physician who forsake promising baseball career for the sake of medical profession.
*Field of Dreams* is one of those films that will be loved or hated depending on the mood or world view of each individual viewers. If you are in bad mood or cynic, you are most likely to see this film as nothing more than Hollywood’s attempts to make profit by playing on people’s sentimentality and ability to digest more syrupy content than there is good for health. If you are in good mod or there is some of your old idealism left, you are likely to see *Field of Dreams* as celebration of America as perfect embodiment of traditional values and social progress where even the impossible dreams can become reality. Films like that almost disappeared in past few decades and they had their zenith during Classic Hollywood, best embodied in populist comedies of Frank Capra. Phil Alden Robinson tried, and for the most part, succeeded in transfer their ethos into late 1980s America, with rural setting, far away from crime and corruption of big cities, perfectly serving as idealised vision of America what it used to be and what it could become again. Robinson directed film well, using relatively limited resources and seemingly unattractive premise to tell emotionally engaging story. In doing so Robinson tried to build on legacy of earlier and much better films, like Capra’s *It’s a Wonderful Life*, Welles’ *Citizen Kane* (which is even implicitly referenced) and Spielberg’s *[Close Encounters of the Third Kind](https://peakd.com/hive-166847/@drax/film-review-close-encounters-of)*. The only segment where film loses its focus is scene during which Annie gets into conflict over seemingly problematic books in school library- attempt by film makers to pay homage to 1960s ideals in cynical 1980s and too obviously pander to sentiments of over-nostalgic Boomers as film’s targetted audience.
Robinson was helped by great cast, which was diverse and very talented. Kevin Costner isn’t among the greatest actors of his generation, but his looks and charisma are perfect for the role of character which is both ordinary and heroic; he is the best in the scenes during which Ray shows clear enthusiasm while encountering iconic heroes of his youth. Amy Madigan is quite charming and very convincing in the role of Ray’s wife who is surprisingly sympathetic towards her husband’s seemingly lunatic cause. Ray Liotta makes relatively brief but memorable impression as a ghost who just wants to play baseball again. Presence of James Earl Jones brings gravitas to the film and even the speech about baseball as the embodiment of everything which was good in America doesn’t sound corny when delivered by him (an achievement which would be even more appreciated with knowledge that Jones in real life can’t stand baseball). For veteran Hollywood star Burt Lancaster the role of elderly doctor was the last big screen role and arguably the perfect way to ride into sunset.
*Field of Dreams* is well-made film that can be appreciated despite its emotional manipulation. However, large segments of the audience aren’t likely to do so for the simple reason of not being familiar with baseball and its history. This is an issue with almost all Hollywood baseball films and one of the reasons why Hollywood, increasingly dependent on non-USA markets, doesn’t make them today. Some of those problems can be solved if the potential viewers before this film watch Sayles’ *[Eight Men Out](https://peakd.com/hive-166847/@drax/film-review-eight-men-out)*, film chronicling infamous Black Sox scandal and thus get some background on “Shoeless” Joe Jackson. In the end, *Field of Dreams* proved to be great hit and one of the most beloved American films of its time. It even managed to live to its most famous lines. The baseball field, built by the film crew on the farm by Dubuque County Iowa, became tourist attraction that is bringing not only tens of thousands of visitors each year and actually served as venue for Major League Baseball game. Few films like this one managed to transcend their fantasy into real life.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
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Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/2323-field-of-dreams
Critic: AA
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