“The Natural” is the third film in a month-long tribute to Glenn Close with a special “Close Encounters” series in September featuring a different Glenn Close film each week.
“The Natural” features an all-star ensemble cast including Glenn Close, Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Kim Basinger, Wilford Brimley and Barbara Hershey. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actress for Glenn Close, along with Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Original Score.
On the way to a tryout with the Chicago Cubs, young baseball phenom Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) is shot by the unstable Harriet Bird (Barbara Hershey). After 16 years, Hobbs returns to pro baseball as a rookie for the last-place New York Knights.
Despite early arguments with his manager, Pop Fisher (Wilford Brimley), Hobbs becomes one of the best players in the league, and the Knights start winning. But this upsets the Judge (Robert Prosky), their owner, who wants Hobbs to lose games, not win.