Film Overview"High Flying Bird" by Steven Soderbergh, released in 2019, is a sports drama movie that presents a fresh point of view on the business systems underlying expert sports. The screenplay was composed by Tarell Alvin McCraney, who co-wrote "Moonlight". It focuses around a sports agent, Ray Burke, represented by Andre Holland, and his experiences within the NBA throughout a gamer lockout.
Plot SummaryThe movie opens throughout a lockout in the National Basketball Association (NBA), when players and league executives stop working to agree on a modified bargaining agreement. Ray Burke, a sports agent, finds himself in a tight spot due to the monetary implications of the lockout. Apart from his commission on players' recommendations, the gamer he oversees, Erick Scott, depicted by Melvin Gregg, has discovered himself in a financial bind due to the ongoing lockout.
Ray devises a strategic plan utilizing Erick's promotion to produce a clout that challenges the NBA's regimented system. He instigates an one-on-one match between Erick and a fellow NBA player. The game, just seen through the impact of social media, moves the story and gives the gamers power and control. This unofficial match goes viral, whose buzz encourages other similar video games around the city.
Main Characters and PerformancesAndre Holland, as the protagonist Ray, gives a stellar performance, embodying Ray's decision to navigate through the industry politics to reverse the ongoing financial lockdown and assist his players. Melvin Gregg plays the function of Erick Scott, and Zazie Beetz brilliantly plays Ray's former assistant, Sam, who is instrumental in actualizing Ray's concept. The movie likewise features Bill Duke as Spence, a youth basketball coach with powerful discussion condemning the exploitation of mainly black professional athletes for their physical aptitude by mostly white executives.
Insight and Commentary"High Flying Bird" provides a vital portrayal of the power dynamics common in markets that utilize the skill and work of black individuals. It discuss unspoken racial hierarchies in leagues like the NBA and how primarily black athletes browse within those spaces. One of the most profound lines of the film, "The video game is played on top of the video game", underlines the presence of a power game layered below sports video games.
Final Thoughts"High Flying Bird" is not a conventional sports film. It lacks the high adrenaline, physically extensive scenes of games, focusing rather on the politics behind the scenes. The film is likewise shot totally on iPhone, showcasing Soderbergh's craft in using unconventional filmmaking techniques, favoring discussions and tactical plot advancement over fancy sets and action sequences. The movie is a political drama that speaks about the sports industry's severe realities, encouraging the audience to see beyond the pompous eyeglasses of games into the athletes' bare battles. It insinuates an empowering narrative for athletes who have the ability to change the standard procedure in these extensively followed leagues.
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