‘I know you’re old school. I sent you a fax...’
Steven Soderbergh has spent the last decade oscillating between blockbusters like Logan Lucky and Magic Mike’s Last Dance and directing low-budget indie movies shot using an iPhone. High Flying Bird falls squarely into the latter camp and as such was released without much fanfare on Netflix back in 2019.
During a pro basketball lockout, super agent Ray Burke (Andre Holland) tries to get the best deal for his up-and-coming client Erick Scott (Melvin Gregg). Sam (Zazie Beetz), Ray’s highly competent former assistant, does everything in her power to pull the deal off while youth coach Spence (Bill Duke) tries to remind Erick why he played the game in the first place.
I don’t know anything about basketball and this was an obstacle here. There were large parts of High Flying Bird where I didn’t know what was going on, despite lengthy exposition and plenty of smart dialogue from writer Tarell Alvin McCraney. Despite this handicap, the performances are so good that I still found plenty to enjoy. Holland’s fast-talking agent delivers in every scene and he shares great chemistry with both Gregg and particularly Beetz, both of whom are great. The film is intercut with interviews with real-life basketball stars shot in black-and-white, and this, combined with the iPhone camera creates a documentary feel that suits the subject matter.
I’m not always a fan of Soderbergh’s work but even in the films of his I don’t like, there is nearly always something interesting to chew on. High Flying Bird is no different, and I imagine basketball enthusiasts with love it. A competent and well-acted film.