Bang The Drum Slowly

Robert DeNiro and Michael Moriarty star in this superbly crafted film about the unlikely friendship between two baseball players. Michael Moriarty plays the team's ace pitcher and the social charmer; DeNiro is the farm boy from Georgia who lacks all of Moriarty's sophistication - he is also dying. During their last season on a team fraught with bickering and infighting, the two men grow in manhood and respect for themselves and for each other. Bang the Drum Slowly is moving without being sentimental and laden with tenderness, humor, honesty and brilliance in both acting and direction. Three out of five stars.