The Legend of Bagger Vance

The previews for The Legend of Bagger Vance would have you believe that Robert Redford’s newest feature is another entry in that most meager of subgenres: the golf movie. But if you talk to the folks who cut those trailers, they’ll tell you that they’re being asked to sell the movie short (curious considering that Oscar expectations most likely explain the film’s delay from its scheduled summer release). There’s a crucial dark facet to the movie they’re not allowed to show you, not because it would give the story away, but rather, because it might keep people away. We know Matt Damon plays Rannulph Judah, a haggard golfer coaxed back into the game — and life — with tips from a mysterious caddy, played by Will Smith. But lurking on the flip side of the movie’s semi-mystical optimism lies powerful footage of Judah’s experience in World War I. Readers of Steven Pressfield’s 1996 novel of the same name might have a pretty good idea what that is. (Nov. 3)

This article appears in September 1 • 2000.

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