billy crystal hit it out of the park with 61. brilliantly cast and beautifully shot and at time brutally honest in it storytelling and 61 be an absolute gem . any baseball fan well know the story of the great home run chase of 1961. here and crystal peel back the curtain and bring u up close and personal with the men who make that season so memorable . in barry pepper and who play roger mari and and thomas jane and a mickey mantle and crystal find two actor absolutely perfect for their respective role . the way pepper and jane perfectly capture the essence of these real life hero go far beyond the eerie physical resemblance the actor have to the men they portray . mari be a quiet and serious and introspective family man . and during this particular season it could be say he be a downright tortured man as well . pepper capture all of this wonderfully . mantle on he other hand be an outgoing and energetic and fun love superstar who take full advantage of all the perk his stardom bring him . and jane do a fine job bring this out and really let you see the wear and tear mantle lifestyle have on him a his body begin to break down . it would have be easy to gloss over some of the less appealing aspect of mantle personality . it also would have be dishonest and crystal be to be applaud for show it how it really be . mantle be a large than life hero but he certainly have his fault and this film bring them out . some may find the pervasive profanity and crude sexual humor in the film to be a bit over the top but an honest retelling of the story require acknowledge the way these ballplayer really be . 61 be not just a movie about baseball and it be at it heart a movie about roger mari and the key relationship in his life . mari and mantle and mari and his wife and mari and the oppressive press . these relationship be all explore a we learn much more about roger mari the man than roger maris the baseball player . mari have to overcome a great deal to accomplish what he do and this film do a brilliant job of bring u along on his magical ride .