Much like "legend of Bagger Vance" did, "A Gentleman's Game" uses golf as a metaphor for life. I wrote in my review of the former, "... what is important is the message that one must find and keep your innate "swing", your soul, to be happy." Here, the message is that one must find his "balance". That is illustrated by the washed-up Amateur champ when he tells the kid, "here, bind your feet together and then hit a ball." When the kid did, he fell over. He had swung too hard, he could not keep his balance. Playing golf was not about winning trophies so that you could show your friends. Golf is only a game, it is not life. That message can be applied to any sport or any obsession, not just golf.
MAJOR SPOILER - The washed-up golfer (Gary Sinise, in a nice role) had mysteriously given up golf right after he won the US Amateur tournament, and driving home from Florida his car had veered off the road into a tree. Only now, years later, did he explain to the boy, "I started the last hole with a Titlist One, and I finished with a Titlist Three, I couldn't find my ball in the tall grass, I dropped another, and won the tournament by one stroke. On the way home I wanted to kill myself." At the end of the film we see him packing up the trophy, intent on bringing it to the true winner that day, the golfer that had finished second.
So, the only lesson he gave the boy was "keep everything in balance." That's the only lesson most of us need. The film did a good job of showing the class distinction within private clubs, the rich may be bad golfers and cheats, but they still are the rich. And the caddies, the "loupers", are the lowest of the low. "Here, throw this orange peel away for me."
It is unfortunate that the director/writer decided to put so much foul language in it. True, country club members probably talk that way, but toning it down to give a PG-13 rating would have been a lot better for the film, and the potential viewers.
The DVD is very nice, the picture transfer is very good. It also has one of the better extras, which shows the process from conception to final film, including how actors were chosen, scouting locations, making a shooting schedule, securing financing, and some interviews and glimpses into the actual shooting.
MAJOR SPOILER - The washed-up golfer (Gary Sinise, in a nice role) had mysteriously given up golf right after he won the US Amateur tournament, and driving home from Florida his car had veered off the road into a tree. Only now, years later, did he explain to the boy, "I started the last hole with a Titlist One, and I finished with a Titlist Three, I couldn't find my ball in the tall grass, I dropped another, and won the tournament by one stroke. On the way home I wanted to kill myself." At the end of the film we see him packing up the trophy, intent on bringing it to the true winner that day, the golfer that had finished second.
So, the only lesson he gave the boy was "keep everything in balance." That's the only lesson most of us need. The film did a good job of showing the class distinction within private clubs, the rich may be bad golfers and cheats, but they still are the rich. And the caddies, the "loupers", are the lowest of the low. "Here, throw this orange peel away for me."
It is unfortunate that the director/writer decided to put so much foul language in it. True, country club members probably talk that way, but toning it down to give a PG-13 rating would have been a lot better for the film, and the potential viewers.
The DVD is very nice, the picture transfer is very good. It also has one of the better extras, which shows the process from conception to final film, including how actors were chosen, scouting locations, making a shooting schedule, securing financing, and some interviews and glimpses into the actual shooting.