The Fan (1996 film)

Plot

Gil "Curly" Renard (Robert De Niro) is a divorced and unstable knife salesman, with a great regard of baseball. His job and personal relationship with his son has suffered. His ex-wife, Ellen (Patti D'Arbanville), obtains a restraining order to keep him away from their son. Gil has a fervent loyalty to his favorite team, the San Francisco Giants and he is obsessed with their newest player, San Francisco native Bobby Rayburn (Wesley Snipes). He is fired from his job when he threatens a perspective costumer.

Rayburn suffers a chest injury that causes fans to be upset by his under performance. Gil begins to aggressively show his anger to the fans who jeer Rayburn. Rayburn is seen fighting with teammate Juan Primo (Benicio del Toro) in the restroom of a bar. Gil confronts Primo in a hotel sauna and stabs him to death. Rayburn is suspected of the death. Rayburn's play improves and Gil believes that what he did was good for Rayburn and the team.

Gil starts to think that Rayburn does not acknowledge his fans enough. Gil goes to Rayburn's beach house and saves Rayburn's son from drowning. Gil pretending to have only a passing interest in the sport. Gil persuades Rayburn to play a friendly game of catch on the beach. Rayburn says he stopped caring about the game after Primo's death, because he felt there were more important things in life. He makes the mistake of telling Gil that he has lost respect for the fans, remarking on their fickle nature — when he's playing, they love him, but when he's not, they hate him. Gil's temper rises as he almost hits Rayburn with a fast ball and launches into a diatribe. Rayburn is slightly disturbed, especially when Gil takes off his jacket to reveal Rayburn's jersey underneath and wonders if Rayburn is happy that Primo's not around.

Rayburn finds that his son has been kidnapped by Gil. He find a piece of Primo's branded shoulder in the freezer. Disillusioned with Rayburn's disrespect towards the fans, Gil spirals further into insanity. He acts as though Sean is his own son. He drives to see an old friend, Coop (Charles Hallahan), a catcher that Gil spoke often of playing baseball with in his past. Coop tries to help Sean escape, and reveals that the only time he and Gil ever played together was in Little League. Gil then beats Coop to death with a baseball bat and takes Sean to a baseball field, hiding him there. He contacts Rayburn to make one demand: hit a home run in the upcoming game and dedicate it to Gil, or he will kill his son. With the police on high alert, Gil enters Candlestick Park in the midst of an on-and-off thunderstorm. Rayburn struggles with his emotions while at bat. After several pitches, he finally hits the ball deep into the outfield but not over the fence. Rayburn attempts to score an inside-the-park home run. He is called out, even though he is obviously safe. Rayburn argues with the umpire, who turns out to be Gil in disguise.

Rayburn knocks Gil to the ground. Dozens of cops swarm onto the field and confront Gil. Before the cops arrive, Gil kills another player, Lanz (John Kruk), who tries to tackle him. Despite warnings from the police, Gil goes into an exaggerated pitching motion with a knife in hand. He asks Rayburn if he cares about baseball, but realizes he cares "just a little bit." Gil is shot dead as he is about to throw the knife. Police discover Sean at the Little League baseball field where Gil played as a child. They uncover his obsession with Rayburn, as hundreds of newspaper clippings adorn the deranged fan's hideout. A picture on the wall shows Gil in his past glory, playing Little League Baseball and winning a game.

Cast

Reception

The Fan got mixed to negative reviews from critics, as it holds a 37% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 27 reviews.

Box office

The film brought in $18,626,419 in the United States and Canada. The opening weekend brought in $6,271,406 and then dropped down a 47.2%.