The film is set in 1919 and 1920 and provides one historical perspective on the 1919 Chicago White Sox team that threw the world series that year.
The story is told chiefly from the perspective of Buck Weaver (John Cusack), the team's third baseman who was aware of the scheme to throw the series but did not participate in the conspiracy. Eight players were ultimately suspended for life, including Weaver. The most tragic was Joe Jackson (D. B. Sweeney), the best player on the team, but portrayed as illiterate and not fully understanding what was happening. The villains on the team were Chick Gandil (Michael Rooker) and Swede Risbert (Don Harvey). Eddie Cicotte (David Strathairn) is the star pitcher who only agrees to participate when the team's owner, Charles Comiskey (Clifton James), refuses to pay a bonus to Cicotte that Cicotte believes is owned him.
Other major characters are the gamblers paying for the "fix," and include Arnold Rothstein (Michael Lerner) and Bill Burns (Christopher Lloyd).
This is a rather complex story, but I think it was reasonably well done. It helps if the viewer has some sense of the history of the "Black Sox" scandal before seeing the film. I thought the actual baseball scenes were not as well done as in a number of other baseball movies, and the player conversations during the games didn't sound authentic. But the storyline, which used young fans and cynical sportswriters to help give context, worked well.
The story is told chiefly from the perspective of Buck Weaver (John Cusack), the team's third baseman who was aware of the scheme to throw the series but did not participate in the conspiracy. Eight players were ultimately suspended for life, including Weaver. The most tragic was Joe Jackson (D. B. Sweeney), the best player on the team, but portrayed as illiterate and not fully understanding what was happening. The villains on the team were Chick Gandil (Michael Rooker) and Swede Risbert (Don Harvey). Eddie Cicotte (David Strathairn) is the star pitcher who only agrees to participate when the team's owner, Charles Comiskey (Clifton James), refuses to pay a bonus to Cicotte that Cicotte believes is owned him.
Other major characters are the gamblers paying for the "fix," and include Arnold Rothstein (Michael Lerner) and Bill Burns (Christopher Lloyd).
This is a rather complex story, but I think it was reasonably well done. It helps if the viewer has some sense of the history of the "Black Sox" scandal before seeing the film. I thought the actual baseball scenes were not as well done as in a number of other baseball movies, and the player conversations during the games didn't sound authentic. But the storyline, which used young fans and cynical sportswriters to help give context, worked well.