Air (2023 film)

 

Directed and co-starring Ben Affleck and written by Alex Convery, Air is the story about the origin of the Air Jordan shoe line by Nike and how an employee from Nike makes a discovery about the then-unknown Michael Jordan and to build a shoe line around him. The film is about the creation of a shoe line that wouldn’t just save Nike from shutting down but create something that would play a key role in the world of popular culture. Also starring Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker, and Viola Davis as Deloris Jordan. Air is a riveting and exhilarating film from Ben Affleck.

Set in 1984, the film follows talent scout Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) who works for Nike’s basketball division as it is on the verge of shutting down due to low sales where he decides to bet on an idea in the hope of saving the division by building a shoe line for a future NBA prospect in Michael Jordan. It is a film that is about the creation of the Air Jordan shoe line and its origins as well as the impact it would have on Nike at a time when they were falling behind other competitive rivals in Converse and Adidas as Nike’s CEO Phil Knight (Ben Affleck) was forced to lay off people ever since the company has gone public. The film’s screenplay by Alex Convery, with un-credited contributions from Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, is largely straightforward in its narrative as it follows Vaccaro who is tasked by Knight and marketing VP Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman) to come up with a new spokesperson for Nike’s basketball shoes with a limited $250,000 budget. Yet, the choices he is given aren’t impressive with the exception of Charles Barkley while trying to nab Michael Jordan is impossible as he has already expressed interests from both Converse and Adidas who are preparing to make their offers.

While re-watching the 1982 NCAA championship where Jordan scored the winning shot, Vaccaro makes a discovery about that winning shot while also watching a commercial that Arthur Ashe did for Head tennis rackets as he came up with an idea that he knows is a major risk since he knows Jordan has no interest in Nike. After a dinner with George Raveling who coached Jordan for the 1984 Olympics, Vaccaro makes the decision to visit the Jordans at their home in Wilmington, North Carolina against the advice of Knight, Strasser, and Jordan’s agent David Falk who doesn’t like Vaccaro. Yet, Vaccaro’s meeting with Deloris Jordan about what he wants to do for her son has her intrigued as well as influence her about her upcoming meetings with Converse and Adidas. Vaccaro’s determination would win over Strasser as well as another VP in Howard White (Chris Tucker) and shoe designer Peter Moore (Matthew Maher) as they realize what they have to do to stand out against their competitors despite a rule by the NBA about shoes. Even as Nike knows they have a lot against them as well as trying to convince Jordan to sign with Nike where they would make a move that would prove to be groundbreaking.

Affleck’s direction is definitely stylish as it is shot in areas around Los Angeles but also places in Oregon including its headquarters at Beaverton, Oregon to create a world set during a fruitful period in time as basketball was about to reach newfound popularity in the NBA due to the rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. While there are some wide shots to establish some of the locations including the look of the basketball division floor at the Nike headquarters. Affleck maintains an intimacy into the direction with its usage of close-ups and medium shots as well as some unique tracking shots with the usage of the Steadicam to get a look at the entire basketball division floor as it would show people at work as it feels more like a place where everyone is enjoying themselves despite the fact that they might lose their jobs. Affleck also plays up to a certain look and feel of the times that is the 1980s as it does evoke some nostalgia but it also plays into a world that is changing with American basketball becoming big business as Nike struggles to keep up with their competitors.

A key aspect in Affleck’s direction that is very notable relates to Michael Jordan (Damian Young) as his face is never shown throughout the film while he rarely speaks as Affleck focuses more on the people at Nike as well as Jordan’s parents as they play a major role in his ascent. The conversation between Vaccaro and Deloris Jordan at the latter’s backyard is a key conversation where Vaccaro reveals certain small details about her upcoming meetings with the people at Converse and Adidas as the meetings would reveal what Deloris sees in those small details but also in questions she needed to ask. The meeting between the Jordans and Nike is a key moment that begins the film’s third act as it relates to what Nike wants for Jordan where Vaccaro talks to Michael about his future and what he will face as it raises a lot into the decisions they would make. A decision that Deloris Jordan would make that isn’t just game-changing but also would give Vaccaro a wider view on the future of sports. Overall, Affleck crafts a riveting and evocative film about a Nike talent scout who takes a big risk in nabbing a future icon to be the face of a new shoe line made exclusively for him.

Cinematographer Robert Richardson does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its low-key yet colorful look to play into the look of the 1980s with its emphasis on low-level lighting as well as maintaining some grainy colors for some of the daytime exteriors as it is a highlight of the film. Editor William Goldenberg does excellent work with the editing as it has some stylish montage-style cutting but also some straightforward cutting to play into the drama and some of the comedic moments in the film. Production designer Francois Audouy, along with supervising art director A. Todd Holland plus set decorators David Smith and Henry Somarriba, does amazing work with the look of the Nike building interiors including Knight’s office as well as the exterior of the Jordan family home. Costume designer Charlese Antoinette Jones does fantastic work as it plays into the style of the 80s clothing including some of the Nike tracksuits that Knight wears as cheesy as it looks.

Hair stylist Jessica Allen and makeup artist Kerrin Jackson does nice work with the look of the characters with Knight being the most notable with his hairdo as well as the look of Deloris Jordan. Special effects supervisor Mark R. Byers and visual effects supervisor Hansjeet Duggal do terrific work with the visual effects as it plays into some of the TV footage as well as some set-dressing for some of the exterior shots. Sound editor Susan Dawes, plus sound designers Ai-Ling Lee and Tobias Poppe, does superb work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of the offices and phone calls as well as the sounds of cars and such to play into the atmosphere of the 1980s.

Music supervisor Andrea von Forester does incredible work with the film’s soundtrack in cultivating a slew of music from late 1970s/early 1980s that include music from Dire Straits, Bruce Springsteen, Run-DMC, Violent Femmes, Mike + the Mechanics, Dan Hartman, the Alan Parsons Project, the Clash, Cyndi Lauper, Harold Faltemeyer, His Name is Alive, Tangerine Dream with additional score music by Paul Haslinger from the group, Squeeze, Rufus with Chaka Khan, Night Ranger, ZZ Top, REO Speedwagon, Big Country, George Clinton, Grandmaster Flash with Melle Mel and the Furious 5, the Dazz Band, Miami Nights 1984, Chris Boardman, Zapp, Pino Donaggio, Thomas Newman, Alexandre Desplat, Andy Partridge and Harold Budd, Mark Isham, and Be Chi. It is a soundtrack that is filled with a lot of the music from that time and it is such a fun soundtrack to listen to.

The casting by Lindsay Graham and Mary Vernieu does wonderful work with the film’s ensemble cast as it feature some notable small roles from Jessica Green as Knight’s secretary Katrina Sainz, Asante Deshon as a 711 clerk that Vaccaro chats with often about basketball, Jay Mohr as the American Adidas executive John Fisher, Gustav Skarsgard and Barbara Sukowa as the Adidas sibling executives in Kathe and Horst Dassler, Julius Tennon as James R. Jordan Sr. and Damian Young as Michael Jordan. Matthew Maher is terrific as shoe designer Peter Moore as an eccentric man who is going through a mid-life crisis as he also figures out the kind of shoe that would be marketable but also be something beautiful. Marlon Wayans is fantastic as George Raveling as Jordan’s coach during the Olympics who converses with Vaccaro about Jordan but also reveals to have owned something historical as he gives Vaccaro some words of wisdom in approaching the Jordans.

Chris Messina is excellent as Jordan’s agent David Falk who came up with the name Air Jordan as someone who is quite volatile towards Vaccaro while trying to do everything in the best interest of the Jordans. Chris Tucker is brilliant as Howard White as a Nike executive who is reluctant to get Jordan due to the fact that Jordan doesn’t like Nike’s products as well as understanding the culture though he is won over by Vaccaro’s determination. Jason Bateman is amazing as marketing VP Rob Strasser as a man who is often baffled and frustrated by Vaccaro yet is won over as he realizes there’s a chance that this move to get Jordan could save his job and hopefully more time with his daughter. Ben Affleck is incredible as Nike CEO Phil Knight as a man that is trying to keep his company away from a board of directors while is also trying to run Nike in the hope that he doesn’t shut down their basketball division as Affleck brings a lot of humor to his character but also some grounded aspects that makes him someone who does care about Nike and its employees.

Viola Davis is phenomenal as Deloris Jordan as Michael Jordan’s mother who is surprised by Vaccaro’s visit as she is aware about her son being a hot prospect as she also understands what Converse and Adidas are offering yet she realizes that Nike is offering something more that she wants to ensure her son’s financial future. Finally, there’s Matt Damon in a tremendous leading performance as Sonny Vaccaro as this talent scout who is trying to find a new spokesman for Nike’s basketball shoes as he makes a discovery in Michael Jordan where he is aware of the risk he is taking but is also someone that is direct in his pursuit where Damon brings the everyman quality to his character from his physical appearance as well as the sense of humility he brings as it’s one of his finest performances to date.

Air is a spectacular film from Ben Affleck that features a great ensemble cast led by Affleck, Matt Damon, Viola Davis, Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker, Chris Messina, and Marlon Wayans. Along with its stylish yet nostalgic look, its study of a man taking a risk to capture an once-in-a-lifetime megastar, and a killer music soundtrack. It’s a film that isn’t just this fascinating sports film of sorts but also a film that shows the origin of one of the greatest shoe lines ever created. In the end, Air is a tremendous film from Ben Affleck.

Ben Affleck Films: (Gone Baby Gone) – The Town (2010 film) - Argo - (Live By Night)

© thevoid99 2023

The Way Back

2003’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World was a film that garnered lots of acclaim from critics as it also received several Oscar nominations. Despite the acclaim, the film was a modest hit in the U.S. while its overall grosses worldwide did help cover the film’s massive budget. For its director Peter Weir, it was another of his great films as he would spend the next seven years taking on various projects. Among them was an adaptations of Pattern Recognition by William Gibson and Gregory David Roberts’ Shantaram. Other projects included War Magician and Shadow Divers as none of them got past the development stage. Weir finally got a project going based on the true story about a group of prisoners escaping the Siberian Gulag during World War II based on The Long Walk by Slawomir Rawicz that would be entitled The Way Back.

Directed by Peter Weir with an adapted script by Weir and Keith Clarke. The Way Back tells the story of a young Polish POW who is sent to the cold Siberian prison where he meets fellow prisoners from around the world. The young man along with other prisoners decides to escape the prison as they go into a treacherous journey through the cold mountains of Siberia and into the desert where they‘re later joined by an orphaned teenaged girl from Poland. Starring Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell, Saoirse Ronan, Mark Strong, Gustaf Skarsgard, Dracos Bucur, and Ed Harris. The Way Back is an exhilarating and adventurous film from Peter Weir.

It’s 1939 as Janusz (Jim Sturgess) is being interrogated for possible crimes in being a spy which he denies. When his wife (Sally Edwards) reveals, under torture, that he did commit crime, he is sent to the Gulag in Siberia for twenty years. Entering the Gulag in 1941, Janusz meets an actor named Khabarov (Mark Strong) who claims to know a way to escape the Gulag. Yet, Janusz learns from an American prisoner named Smith (Ed Harris) that Khabarov is just trying to make his own way out as Janusz refuses to give up. When a brutish, tattooed prisoner named Valka (Colin Farrell) overhears a conversation with Janusz and Khabarov, he decides to join in Janusz’s plan to escape.

Joining Janusz, Smith, and Valka for the escape are four other men that consists of a Lativan priest named Voss (Gustaf Skarsgard), a Yugoslav accountant named Zoran (Dracos Bucur), an artist named Tomasz (Alexandru Potocean), and a 17-year old Polish boy named Kazik (Sebastian Urzendowsky). During a snowstorm and a blackout in the prison, the men escape as they trek through the cold forest of Siberia as they make their way South in hopes of reaching Mongolia. Along the way, they go further into the mountains hoping to reach a lake while they wear wooden masks during the heavy snowstorm. During the long journey, Janusz finally finds the lake as everyone goes to the lake.

Along the way, they learned that a young Polish girl named Irena (Saoirse Ronan) has been following them as Smith isn’t sure in taking another person to the journey. Still, she follows them as they reluctantly let her join the trek to Mongolia. Encountering everything from mosquitoes to icy waters, they finally reach the Russian-Mongolian border only to learn that Mongolia is a Communist state. Realizing that the only place to go to is India for freedom, the group goes on a trek through the Gobi desert where they have to deal with all sorts of challenges to get across to their destination.

The film’s plot about a group of men and a young girl trekking through Siberia to India seems like the kind of film that doesn’t really do much in terms of plotting. In the hands of Peter Weir, it becomes an extraordinary experience about endurance and survival. Though the film’s opening dedication does spoil the ending which is the only big mistake the film makes. Weir and co-screenwriter Keith Clarke decides that the film shouldn’t just be about the journey but also the characters.

Janusz is the character who drives the film as he knows he’s innocent and hopes to return to his wife whom he loves and knows that she is carrying a lot of guilt for putting him in prison. He is then joined by several characters who would help him escape and take part in this journey. While there are a couple of minor characters like the shady Khabarov and the young Kazik that do get a chance to shine. They’re just minor players who would help everyone else. Smith is an American who came to Russia to find work only to be suspected as spy. Smith is the old man who would be Janusz’s right hand man as he’s also someone not very sentimental as he tells Janusz about his kindness which he perceives as a weakness.

Yet, the arrival of Irena would become the person that the men in the journey would feel protective for. She becomes their angel of sorts as at one point during an encounter with Mongolians in the desert. Smith would say that Irena is his daughter as their relationship becomes somewhat of a father-daughter relationship as the rest of the men are her brothers. The character of Valka is a brutish man who is an admitted thief and is willing to do anything to survive. Yet, he becomes someone who would help everyone for their survival while maintaining his belief as a man who loves Stalin despite everyone else’s opinions.

It’s not just Weir’s ability for audience to get to know these characters which include other supporting characters like Tomasz, Voss, and Zoran as they would bring their own personalities to the journey. Even as the film would have bits of humor through the dialogue as some of it is in Russian and Polish. The screenplay also has a great structure in how to tell the story despite not having a lot of plot-points or conventional story ideas. Though it would lag in a few places, the overall work in the script is superb.

Weir’s direction for the film is definitely top of the line in what is expected from a cinematic master. Shooting on location in places like Bulgaria for the scenes in Siberia plus other locations such as Morocco, Pakistan, and India for the rest of the film. Weir takes audiences into a journey as if they’re part of this long walk from Siberia to India as he always has the camera following the group or have long shots of them walking together. Part of Weir’s brilliance as a director is him always having a wide depth of field where he allows the audience to soak the vast locations they’re walking on.

Whether its coldness of the snow and heavy storms in Bulgaria as Siberia or the big sandstorms the group encounters in the desert. Weir allows the audience to get a feeling of the location with close-ups of the ground or vast long shots. There is always something that Weir is interested in and he’ll shoot it. Even if with actors interacting with nature while taking a chance to even get in touch with where they’re at. It’s definitely directing at its finest as Weir secures another film that goes up there with his vast filmography.

Cinematographer Russell Boyd does an amazing job with the film’s vast, sprawling camera work as he creates naturalistic images that are truly dazzling on film. From the snowy regions near the Himalayas and other mountains to the wondrous deserts. Boyd’s photography is truly exquisite not just for its realistic look at the locations but also in playing to the emotional tone of the film as creates dream-like images for scenes at night as well as a mirage-like sequence. Boyd’s work is definitely top-notch in what is expected for a film like this.

Editor Lee Smith does an excellent job with the film’s editing which is mostly straightforward as it moves quite well for a film with a near two-and-a-half hour running time. Smith also manages to keep the film going with rhythmic cuts for some intense, fast-paced scenes while a lot of the scenes of walking is slow but in a leisured pace.

Production designer John Stoddart and art director Kes Bonnet do a fine job with the few set pieces made for the film such as the prison where the prisoners were staying early on to the Soviet Union-Mongolia border arc they encounter. Costume designer Wendy Stites does a very good job with the ragged costumes the characters wear including the dress that Irena wears and the pants and boots the men wear in their journey. Sound editor Richard King does a spectacular job with the film’s sound in capturing the broad atmosphere of the locations the characters encounter whether it’s the snowstorms or a sandstorm. King’s work is definitely one of the film’s technical highlights

Music composer Burkhard von Dallwitz brings a wonderful epic, soaring score that plays to the journey of the characters. Filled with sweeping string arrangements and a huge orchestra, von Dallwitz’s score is definitely one of the film’s highlights as it helps play up to the film’s vast presentation.

The casting by Lina Todd is wonderful for what is definitely inspired casting not just for its well-known actors but also lesser-known ones. Smaller performances such as Sally Edwards as Janusz’s wife, Zahary Baharov as the interrogator in the opening scene, Stanislav Pishtalov as the prison superintendent, and Sebastian Urzendowsky as Kazik, the young prisoner suffering from night blindness. Alexandru Potocean is excellent as Tomasz, an artist who makes drawings as he keeps the morale of the group high while being a dreamer with high hopes. Gustav Skarsgard is amazing as Voss, a former priest hoping to find a home to maintain some kind of spirituality for those seeking something to believe in as he has a great scene where he and Saoirse Ronan are inside a decayed Buddhist temple.

Dracos Bucur is superb as Zoran, a Yugoslav accountant who brings some much needed humor to the film whether is the desire for salt or maintaining some kind of hope needed once they reach their destination. Mark Strong is very good in a small role as Khabarov, an actor who has the idea to escape prison but doesn’t believe anything will happen. Colin Farrell is phenomenal as Valka, a thug who is very pro-Stalin as he is an admitted thief but a person who cares about freedom as he helps his friends to their journey. Saoirse Ronan is just spectacular in her role as Irena, a young Polish girl who forges an unlikely bond with the prisoners. Even in her scenes with the more cynical Smith where the chemistry between Ronan and Ed Harris is one of the film’s touching yet low-key moments.

Jim Sturgess gives what is definitely his best performance yet as Janusz. A young man desperate to return home as his willingness to escape and go home becomes one of the key moments into why the film is so captivating to watch. Even as tries to maintain hope for his group as Sturgess proves himself to be a capable lead when he’s armed with a great cast. Finally, there’s Ed Harris in one of his best roles as Mr. Smith. A cynical American who came to the Soviet Union for work only to be in prison as he tries to maintain a realist approach to the journey. Even in being an unlikely father figure for both Janusz and Irena as he also some great scenes with the rest of the cast as Harris solidifies his position as one of the finest actors working today.

The Way Back is an amazing film from Peter Weir and company. Featuring a great ensemble cast led by Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Saoirse Ronan, and Colin Farrell along with new discovers in Dracos Bucur, Gustav Skarsgard, and Alexandru Potocean. It’s a film that is a great testament of courage and survival as its captured through masterful filmmaking. Fans of Weir will no doubt enjoy the film for its adventurous vision and large canvas as it’s something that should be seen more. In the end, The Way Back is a stunning yet engrossing film from Peter Weir.

Peter Weir Films: (3 to Go-Michael) – (Homesdale) – (Whatever Happened to Green Valley?) - (The Car That Ate Paris) - Picnic at Hanging Rock - (The Last Wave) - The Plumber (1979 TV film) - Gallipoli - The Year of Living Dangerously - (Witness) - (Mosquito Coast) - Dead Poets Society - (Green Card) - (Fearless) - (The Truman Show) - Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World

© thevoid99 2011