"Eight Men Out" tells the story of the Black Sox scandal, the 1919 Chicago White Sox baseball team that threw that year's World Series. The film has the over-riding message that greed is the root of all evil. Stingy owners, corrupt players, and cynical gamblers chase dollars, forfeiting their future for a brighter present. Only the sportswriters and the fans are honest.
The players' owner is Charles Comiskey (Clifton James). He is notoriously cheap, paying starvation wages and welching on player bonuses. When the team reaches the World Series, the players are given flat champagne to celebrate. This fuels resentment among the players that makes them susceptible to the influence of gamblers.
There are several very interesting characters in "Eight Men Out." The kingpin gambler Arnold Rothstein (Michael Lerner) carries a chip on his shoulder against athletes. This is the result of the ridicule he faced as a child when trying to play sports. He seeks revenge by fixing sports events and taking the profits, but no amount of money will satisfy his resentment.
Christoper Lloyd also plays a gambler, a former pitcher looking for a big score. For once his role is not eccentric. Once the fix is in, the gamblers get greedy and stop paying off the players. "It's all out on bets" is their favorite line.
Several of the Chicago players are in on the fix but play their best anyway, leaving it to starting pitchers Eddie Cicotte (David Straithairn) and Lefty Williams (James Read) to throw the games. A major film inaccuracy is that the players are apparently tried and suspended during the offseason. In fact, they played for much of the 1920 season.
The director focuses on one player in particular, and surprisingly it isn't 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson, the most famous of the Black Sox players. The spotlight is on Buck Weaver (John Cusack) instead, perhaps because his character is more eloquent than the simpleton Jackson. Cusack has several scenes hanging with kid fans that don't seem completely credible.
Despite its minor weaknesses, "Eight Men Out" is an excellent film that demonstrates a love of baseball and the corruption of character that occurs with greed. (87/100)
John Cusack (Con Air) and Charlie Sheen (Major League) lead a superb ensemble of actors (Newsweek) delivering striking performances (The New York Time...More at Buy.com
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