Dick Handsome

A really solid depiction of the 1919 World Series scandal, led by some terrific performances and a good feel for the period. The cast is packed with underrated character actors like David Strathairn and Michael Rooker, and even writer/director John Sayles does a great turn as sardonic sportswriter Ring Lardner. Cusack is, as always, reliably good. The film's only real problem is that it's too big a story to tell in a single film. You've got a full baseball team, the manager, the owner, journalists, gamblers, judges... so many characters that need more screen time to really hit home. Joe Jackson, theoretically the heart of the team, feels like an afterthought. This material would be excellent for a modern prestige miniseries which would have the screen time necessary to give the many roles more texture. The film is reasonably accurate, even if it upholds a few urban legends. The 'Black Sox' name didn't come from the trial; the White Sox were already called that because Comiskey was too cheap to maintain the team's laundry. And the "say it ain't so, Joe!" moment is kind of an eye-roller. Still, it's a good watch and worth it to see some fine actors do their stuff.