The Heart of the Game | Review

7-year project demonstrates tenacity of a team and persistence of a filmmaker.

The reason why Ward Serrill’s documentary film is premiering at a movie theatre and not on some sports cable channel is because there is more to life than learning how to dribble or to throw a ball through a hoop. Surely to be mentioned in the same breath as its similar in theme and in sport predecessor Hoop Dreams, this Miramax release offers more drama and more uphill battles to be fought than the half dozen of sports-themed mainstream biopics that get rolled out on a yearly basis. While there is no disputing the better film of the two documentaries, The Heart of the Game has got more hook appeal than your typical NBA playoff game.

Find a subject matter, pick up a camera, shoot and hope that somehow the drama will unfold. If only it were that simple. Credit goes to Serrill who had the foresight to embark on such an inspirational journey – one that follows a passionate coach during a lengthy seven basketball season stance. Taping into the synergy of sports, the importance of team play, the doc takes the best of turns when an African American joins the all-white team and starts believing in one of the many renewable coach mantras that reference the world of the animal kingdom. Sparks fly both on and off the court and as Michael Apted’s 7up series has demonstrated, life is about having the odds stacked against you especially when you come from unfavorable background. There are many turning point moments to the doc, lots of butting heads, a coach and his dream star player, and then with his prodigy and then the prodigy versus life, prodigy versus the system. It’s a Cinderella story with plenty of tenacity thanks to the young she’s-got-game heroine, but more importunely it becomes an essay on perseverance, desire and adversity, but also a social commentary about everything that is wrong with the system from the hardships of kids having kids to the ideology behind athletic scholarships.

Comprised of footage from team practices, actual game play, and the cherry on top television coverage from a major sports network, Serrill’s shot-on-video feature-length debut is far from being refined, but that’s the least of concerns when thousands of hours of footage provides a seven-year journey that aptly fits into a easy 90-minute watch. The narration handled by actor/rapper Ludacris will not send droves of boys’ basketball leagues to the multiplex to check out a girl’s basketball film, but there is something poignant about seeing young girls building up their self-esteem on screen, the doc oozes with a positive outlook, conviction and passion for the game.

The Heart of the Game is definitely a family film you’d want to share with grade-school kid involved in competitive sports – in the end the doc cares more about the dynamics of forging relationships than the big game finale. Of course it helps when a championship win ties-up the doc’s ending – it places a nice bow on the story arch about overcoming adversity.

Rating 3 stars