High Flying Bird is a 2019 drama about a sports agent who pitches a rookie basketball client on an intriguing and controversial business opportunity during a lockout.
Sports is a business. No secret there. Players are often nothing more than vehicles to pitch product where the really good ones becomes marketing icons for generations beyond when their genuine talents have dried up in the game. And if there is one game that holds court over all others, it’s got to be basketball, the NBA alone a juggernaut of property that has for decades been a grinding machine, churning out sensational talent while at the same time making a fortune on a collection of athletes who continue to struggle for their respectable piece of the ever-growing pie. This is where director and experimental filmmaker Steven Soderbergh takes us, into the back corners of a system all about race and rights, money and mayhem.
Ray Burke (André Holland) is a longtime sports agent working for a company in serious strain as an NBA lockout keep players from making money and by extension, the people who represent them. This includes his newest, possibly biggest money maker Erick Scott (Melvin Gregg), a first draft pick who hasn’t even hit the courts yet but wants to go big, so much so he’s spending and borrowing money he hasn’t got yet. Worse, Ray’s boss (Zachary Quinto), trying to save the company, cuts his expense accounts and salary, forcing Ray take action on his own, developing a plan that would uproot the status quo.
Shot entirely with iPhones, which make it the second time for the legendary Soderbergh, High Flying Bird is, of course, barely about basketball. And unlike Cameron Crowe‘s Jerry Maguire, it’s not about highly-charismatic people making dreams come true timed to perfectly-placed pop songs (don’t me wrong, that formula works very well). Instead, this is a scathing dissection of a ruthless operation that exploits its players, of whom most are African American, using its limited cast and production to create a deeply engrossing, very personal examination of what goes on after the whistles blow.
The stage is set early in a dramatic and wonderfully-written opening salvo that starts in a cafe overlooking the city with Ray and Erick discussing the player’s financial woes. Like much of what will follow, it’s deeply intimate in how its shot, sort of like a stage play, with Soderbergh not overly-emphasizing the almost melodic dialogue but constantly keeping a tempered pace in the action and reaction of his characters. It’s sharp and compelling. More so, very entertaining.
We meet others in this larger game as well, including NBA Player’s Union rep (Sonja Sohn), who is in deadlock with owner’s leader (Kyle MacLachlan), he the white face of those in charge of the money. Ray swims with the sharks on both sides of the contest and more, tries to work his plan on anyone who will listen (look for the great Bill Duke as one with some thoughts on this). Ray’s great fun to watch, and Holland is every reason to stay tuned, fast-talking and clever, he gives the sports agent the expected urgency but also great weight and intellect.
High Flying Birds is just inside of reality, like a morality play, but also so finely-tuned to its message, it’s sheer joy to watch. Look for real NBA stars in scene transitions briefly telling their own stories of life after making it to the top. Highly recommended.