Baseball increasingly feels like an anomaly in our fast-scrolling, clock-watching world.
The only major American sport not dictated by a clock, baseball unfolds at its own pace—innings go on until three batters are out, and games can continue indefinitely until there is a clear winner. It requires intelligence and athleticism to play while also encapsulating a goofy looseness that makes it the perfect home for some of the weirdest people to have ever played sports professionally.
The beautiful, idiosyncratic rhythm of baseball makes it a rich setting for storytelling, especially within one of our country’s other great pastimes: the movies.
Baseball movies capture the full spectrum of emotions the game evokes in its fans, from the stoic reverence of “The Pride of the Yankees” and “The Natural,” to inspirational underdog stories like “A League of Their Own” and “Moneyball,” and the scrappy DIY ethos of kids-in-baseball movies like “The Sandlot” and “The Bad News Bears.”
You just need to look at the career of Kevin Costner to find an unofficial trilogy that encompasses the feelings of baseball: “For the Love of the Game” captures the rewards and sacrifices that come with a major league career; “Bull Durham” captures a kind of degenerate intelligence that makes the game so alluring; and “Field of Dreams” stands as a classic in the genre, a testament to the eternal bonds the love of the game can create across generations of families.
“Eephus,” a new comedy opening at The Triplex this week, is a beautiful continuation of the genre, capturing the final day of a ball field in western Massachusetts before it is set to be demolished. We learn everything we need to know about its characters as the game unfolds, with the movie telling their stories in a rhythm that is strikingly true to life. It is as loose and lived-in as a Sunday double header, capturing the way the game brings a community together and what is lost when the final out is called.
These movies—as different as they may be—all speak to the way that baseball makes life better. Because sometimes, as counterintuitive as it may seem in our chaotic world, taking the time to play a meaningless game is the best way to remember what really matters in life.
Now Playing
“Eating Our Way to Extinction”
A free documentary screening examining the sustainability of our food chain.
Our Environmental Documentary series returns on April 22 with “Eating Ourselves To Extinction,” a globe-trotting look at the way the commercial food chain is pushing the world toward ecological collapse. Confronting and entertaining, this documentary allows audiences to question their everyday choices, industry leaders, and governments. Join us for a free screening and talkback where we will discuss sustainability practices in our own lives and sample sustainable food choices.
Sponsored by the Dr. Robert C. and Tina Sohn Foundation and the Roaring Brook Family Foundation.
April 22, at 7 p.m.
“Water Is Love”
Free documentary screening presented by the Great Barrington Land Conservancy.
Great Barrington Land Conservancy (GBLC) invites you to a free screening of “Water is Love: Ripples of Regeneration” on April 23! A documentary that follows a group of young people grappling with the climate crisis, highlighting the challenges of water scarcity and the innovative solutions being implemented to ensure water sustainability, the screening will be preceded by a community meeting where GBLC will share ways that you can help to support the health of our natural spaces and our waterways here in Great Barrington.
April 23, at 7 p.m.
“Midsommar”
A shocking exploration of grief with Florence Pugh.
The ultimate breakup movie of the Millennial Era, Ari Aster’s “Midsommar” plays as part of our series “Down the Rabbit Hole: Paranoia, Delusion, and Recovery on Film” on April 24. A young couple on the rocks (Florence Pugh, Jack Raynor) travel with friends to a fabled Swedish midsummer festival, only to discover a sinister cult mentality lurking underneath the pastoral paradise. After the movie, join Austen Riggs Center’s Vivian Chan, M.D., for a discussion about the movie and the ways that cult mentalities can take hold.
Part of “Down the Rabbit Hole: Paranoia, Delusion, and Recovery in Film,” sponsored by the Austen Riggs Center.
April 24, at 7 p.m.
“The Ballad Of Wallis Island”
A bittersweet tribute to the power of music with Carey Mulligan.
Charles, an eccentric lottery winner (Tim Key) who lives alone on a remote island, has one dream: to get his favorite band back together. Fantasy turns to reality when the bandmates/former lovers (Carey Mulligan and Tom Basden) accept his offer to play a private concert, setting the stage for a reunion that brings old tensions to the surface. An absolute charmer that was a breakout hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, don’t miss your chance to see “The Ballad Of Wallis Island” on the big screen!
“The Friend”
A tribute to man’s best friend with Naomi Watts and Bill Murray.
Writer and teacher Iris (Naomi Watts) finds her comfortable, solitary New York life thrown into disarray after her closest friend and mentor (Bill Murray) dies suddenly and bequeaths her his beloved Great Dane in “The Friend.” Despite the disruptions of suddenly sharing her life with a 150-pound beast, Iris finds herself unexpectedly bonding with the animal, coming to terms with her past, her lost friend, and her own creative inner life.
“A Minecraft Movie”
A hilarious take on the beloved video game.
Director Jared Hess (“Napoleon Dynamite”) takes you inside one of the most popular video games of all time in “A Minecraft Movie,” coming to The Triplex on April 4! When four misfits find themselves pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld, a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination, they will have to master their building abilities while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected expert crafter, Steve (Jack Black).
Coming Soon
“The Accountant 2”
Ben Affleck returns in “The Accountant 2,” an action-filled sequel to the 2016 sleeper hit that sees the brilliant Christian Wolff team up with his estranged brother (Jon Bernthal) to unravel a deadly conspiracy. Taking the franchise into a realm of a loose buddy comedy while still retaining its emotional core, “The Accountant 2” comes to The Triplex on April 25.
Starts April 25.
“Misericordia”
Wayward Jérémie causes waves with his return to his small French village in Director Alain Guiraudie’s “Misericordia,” playing as part of our Limited Engagement series starting on April 25. Following the death of his former mentor, Jérémie integrates himself into the lives of his widow, son, and the oddly cheerful local priest. A simmering neo-noir, “Misericordia” builds up an atmosphere of eroticism and violence until it all boils over in unexpected ways.
Part of our Limited Engagement series, “Misericordia” plays for one week starting on April 25.
“Blue Velvet”
We end our series “Time to Wake Up: A Tribute to David Lynch” with “Blue Velvet,” the neo-noir mystery that cemented Lynch’s surreal cinematic universe. A severed ear in an abandoned field sends college student Jeffrey Beaumont on the search for answers in a dark, twisted world occupied by beautiful lounge singer Dorothy Valens (Isabella Rossellini) and sexually depraved psychopath Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper).
April 26, at 8 p.m.
“Lars and the Real Girl”
We end our series “Down the Rabbit Hole” with “Lars and the Real Girl,” Director Craig Gilespie’s movie about a community coming together to support a young man (Ryan Gosling) suffering through a mental health crisis. When introvert Lars (Gosling) finally brings home a girlfriend, his family is shocked to learn that she is a life-size plastic doll. On the advice of a doctor (Patricia Clarkson), his family and the rest of the community go along with his delusion, forcing everyone to step outside of their comfort zone.
After the movie, Jane Tillman, Ph.D., the Evelyn Stefansson Nef director of the Erikson Institute for Education and Research of the Austen Riggs Center, joins us for a conversation about the film and the ways a community can come together to help someone suffering from delusions.
Part of “Down the Rabbit Hole: Paranoia, Delusion, and Recovery in Film,” sponsored by the Austen Riggs Center.
April 27, at 4 p.m.
