by Samuel Nichols, Contributing Writer
The fundamental sport story is that of the underdog. A small town team beating the massive metropolitan school with class sizes twice the size of their whole student body. Lovable losers finally getting their big break and going the distance after beating their personal demons. Inexperienced coach deals with pressure on all sides and turns to unconventional methods. It’s not a surprise to me that Rez Ball has all three of these in its story. The surprise is how well it balances all of them and keeps you invested in the lives of the Native America team that turned their season around after tragedy.
Rez Ball follows the real-life story of the Chuska High Warriors. Coming into the season ready to compete for a New Mexico state title behind stars Nataanii Jackson (Kusem Goodwind) and Jimmy Holiday (Kauchani Bratt), there’s great expectations for them. But after Nataanii takes his own life, Coach Heather (Jessica Matten) and the whole team have a difficult road ahead of them. Will they be able to overcome the tragedy and come together as a team? Or will internal conflict and the terrible loss they’ve suffered crush their dreams?
You see all that adversity I’m talking about? Crap, losing a star in general is enough to make a coach and team quit completely, let alone losing said player to suicide. Just getting on the court is half the battle. But you have to admire the strength of this team and the community around them to keep on trucking. The writers, Sydney Freeland and Sterlin Harjo, were smart enough to let their characters suffer, but not dwell on it to long. They come up with solutions for their problems. People band together to support the team and their families. And it makes it easier to root for them and see the team succeed with how much they’ve invested in themselves and the community has put into them.
On the more technical side, I have to praise this movie’s basketball scenes. Netflix, Disney, and other major studios don’t often put enough elbow grease into their sports scenes. It takes the viewer out of the story if the “athletes” can’t actually ball. But these kids got game. Their forms look realistic and unforced, like actual teenagers who’ve shot hoops in parks and gyms their whole lives. And the camerawork at play captures that exactly. The motion of the screen is fluid and simple. There are very few quick cuts or too-close zoom-in’s that disorient you. Every now and then, there’s a bit of slow motion, but that’s to accent a key moment, so it gets a pass.
The only thing that kills me about Rez Ball is the lack of promotion and release it received. There was already a documentary about this same team, so it’s a story that could get some viewers and may even get a little awards buzz. But the Netflix model is gonna have this movie in their top 10 for a week max, with barely an awards push since there isn’t a big director or star attached. Then it’ll be replaced on the Top 10 within a week by the Super Mario Bros. Movie or Madame Web, because those movies were actually in theaters. And that’s Rez Ball’s whole window of viewership. Something of this significance needs more pomp and circumstance to its release. I saw no promotion for it at all other than a YouTube trailer. When Netflix dropped The Gray Man a few years ago, there will billboards and TV ads. That movie was hot garbage bolstered by star power. It pisses me off that something of actual value like Rez Ball gets the marketing budget of a 1999 Volkswagen Passat, which is to say, none. It’s almost like Netflix has no idea what they have, and if it’s any good.
Rating: Liked It
Rez Ball is currently streaming on Netflix
You can read more from Samuel Nichols, and follow him on Twitter and Letterboxd