Hardball (film)
- Keanu Reeves: Conor O'Neill
- Diane Lane: Elizabeth Wilkes
- John Hawkes: Ticky Tobin
- Bryan Hearne: Andre Ray Peetes
- Julian Griffith: Jefferson Albert Tibbs
Hardball (alternatively Hardball ) is a film drama based on a true story starring Keanu Reeves from the year 2001.
Action
Conor O'Neill, a player who is in debt. As his creditors threaten him and he asks his friend Jimmy Fleming about the money, agrees to this, but is a condition: O'Neill has to take over as coach and so off debts a youth baseball team in the Little League. Torn between his respect for the achievements of the boys in spite of difficult social circumstances - the action takes place in Cabrini - Green, a social neighborhood of Chicago's North Side - and its burgeoning gambling, O'Neill is in an illegal betting shop his first payment one. He also learns more about his players and their particular gang life. He tries in school for the boys to use and falls in love with the teacher Elizabeth Wilkes, who teaches most of his players. Before her, he tries to hide his gambling addiction, but at the same time to place his wager made on a basketball game. He wins a large sum and the threats of violence can escape his creditors. Then he invites the guys to take a Major League game, this draw some motivation for their own game. He also buys a team equipment for his team, the boys can compete for the first time to the next league game in their own jerseys. The youngest of the players coming in this game and earned his first victory point. On the way home this warring gangs in a shootout is shot outside his apartment block. The team convinced O'Neill, who wanted to go to the grave speech for the boy to give up the care of the team to continue as coach. The boys win the League Cup and O'Neil gets an offer for a permanent position at the school.
Reviews
- Jay Carr wrote in The Boston Globe, the film is not original.
- Morton Gudmonsdottir criticized on www.filmstarts.de the "limited" game of Keanu Reeves.
Awards
Keanu Reeves was nominated in 2002 for the Golden Raspberry.
This and That
The production of the film cost about 21 million U.S. dollars. He was shot in Chicago and Detroit. The baseball star Sammy Sosa has in one scene of the film a cameo.