Straight, "no chaser" is how NBA agent Ray Burke (Andre Holland) likes his news in "High Flying Bird," and the same could be said for the cinematic preferences of director Steven Soderbergh, whose stripped-down latest is a fleet-footed fast break of a movie.
"High Flying Bird," Soderbergh's second film shot on iPhones and his first for Netflix, has been made with an exhilarating, no-nonsense immediacy. Standard movie gloss has been happily jettisoned to give it to us straight. The "it" is the free-flowing torrent of Tarell Alvin McCraney's words (McCraney's play was the basis for Barry Jenkins' "Moonlight"), whose hyper-verbal script has given the film's talented cast, led by Holland, plenty to chew on.
Burke is a slick, fast-talking agent who, months into a lockout, is carrying out a scheme of mysterious objectives. Soderbergh and McCraney promptly submerge us in a soliloquy of Burke's at a Manhattan restaurant meeting with his star client, the recent number-one pick of the draft, Erik Scott (newcomer Melvin Gregg). He speaks of ball as something sacred and pure and hints at the larger powers that control the game with a bravado only slightly undercut when his credit card is rejected. Burke pays in cash, hands Scott an envelope with something he calls "a bible" in it, and huffs it down the street.
This image released by Netflix shows Melvin Gregg, left, and André Holland in a scene from "High Flying Bird." (Peter AndrewsNetflix via AP)
It's a breathless start to a breathless movie, set to "Sweet Smell of Success" speed. It pauses only for Burke, after the lunch, to walk downtown while Richie Havens plays. What we come to gather is that Burke is trying to take control of his own destiny and, for a moment at least, hold the game in his hands. "High Flying Bird" is a heady movie, full of political thought about sport, entertainment, race and power. Rather than float on production value, it sustains itself on the tension of ideas, exchanged rapid-fire in gleaming office towers.
There is almost no basketball in "High Flying Bird," nor are there any of the normal sports-movie clichés. It's concerned with "the game on top of the game," as the wise Bronx coach Spencer (Bill Duke) calls the system imposed on basketball, one controlled mainly by white billionaires like owner David Seton (Kyle MacLachlan), who's negotiating with player rep Myra (a terrific Sonja Sohn).
What Burke has in mind is disruption and, maybe, a moment of freedom for the entertainers in the middle from the powers that be above. That such a framework is a metaphor for other institutions — the movie industry, most obviously — isn't hard to miss. Both iPhones and Netflix have a pivotal role in Burke's brewing rebellion. Burke's hustle is Soderbergh's. "High Flying Bird" is, itself, a crossover dribble to blow past the system.
This image released by Netflix shows Melvin Gregg, left, and Zazie Beetz in a scene from "High Flying Bird." (Peter AndrewsNetflix via AP)
"I'm not out. I'm just outside," says Burke. "But I'm about to pull up a chair."
A handful of insiders contribute wittingly or unwittingly to his plan, among them Burke's former protege Sam (Zazie Beetz) and Emera Umber (Jeryl Prescott), the mother of Scott's rival, Jamero Umber (Justin Hurtt-Dunkley). Burke subtly manipulates him into an impromptu one-on-one match that immediately goes viral.
For a movie full of characters who sincerely espouse the beauty of basketball, "High Flying Bird" could use more of the sport. I wish the filmmaking more obviously shared its characters' affection for the game, not just their politics. There's a trio of real NBA-ers (Reggie Jackson, Donovan Mitchell, Karl-Anthony Towns) who appear now and again in black-and-white interviews to talk about the head-spinning leap from college to the pros — "a monster I don't think anyone can prepare for," says Jackson. They give the film an added flavor of reality but also interrupt the movie's flow once it gets humming.
"High Flying Bird" shares much with Soderbergh's previous capitalism critiques and insurgent heists ("The Girlfriend Experience," ''Ocean's Eleven"). And it follows the director's own failed revolt: a noble experiment to self-finance and distribute wide-release movies , the first being "Logan Lucky."
Yet the spirit of that endeavor persists in "High Flying Bird," a movie that feels held aloft by its innovative, no-chaser ethos. Though the iPhones here work surprisingly well (certainly better than they did in Soderbergh's "Unsane"), I wonder if the story and the performances wouldn't have been better served with the full apparatus of moviemaking behind them.
But then again, "High Flying Bird" might not have existed if it wasn't made off-the-cuff on phones. And then we wouldn't have this electric, thought-provoking script by McCraney or this overdue leading performance by the fabulous but under-used Holland. And then there's the surest sign that "High Flying Bird" moves to its own rhythm: It culminates with, of all things, a book recommendation. How radical is that?
"High Flying Bird," a Netflix release, isn't rated by the Motion Picture Association of America but contains mature language. Running time: 90 minutes. Three stars out of four.
Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
Here’s a rundown of the AP’s latest Election 2024 coverage plans, including live video and text plans, our explanatory journalism and highlights from previous cycles. Candidate schedules are included when available. All times are EDT.
You can find US Election 2024-The Daily Rundown in your CMS or in AP Newsroom.
For up-to-the-minute information on AP’s coverage, visit AP Newsroom’s Coverage Plan. Find our election coverage in the U.S. Elections hub in AP Newsroom.
To sign up for our Politics Advisory, delivered afternoons Monday through Friday to your inbox, click here.
TRUMP TRIAL OPENING-AP EXPLAINS — Opening statements in Donald Trump’s hush money trial set the stage for weeks of testimony about the former president’s personal life and places his legal troubles at the center of his closely contested campaign against President Joe Biden. An AP reporter debrief. Newsroom Ready and Consumer Ready edits.
BIDEN-EARTH DAY — President Joe Biden marked Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving households in low- and middle-income communities — while blasting Republicans who want to gut his policies to address climate change. Newsroom Ready and Consumer Ready edits.
President Joe Biden campaigns in Tampa, Florida. Events at 3 p.m. and 4:15 p.m.
++ Candidate schedules are subject to change. Coverage of some events is on merits. ++
7 a.m. — Live NY Trump Pool coverage outside of Trump Tower in New York is planned.
8:30 a.m. — Live NY Trump Pool or Live AP coverage outside of the courthouse in New York is planned.
9 a.m. — Live pool coverage from the courthouse hallway in New York is planned.
4:15 p.m. — Live US Network Pool of President Joe Biden’s campaign event in Tampa, Florida.
TRUMP-HUSH-MONEY-MEDIA-BLOGS — With cameras not allowed at former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York, live news blogs are coming into their own as an important news tool. SENT: 710 words, photos.
TRUMP-HUSH MONEY — A longtime tabloid publisher is expected to tell jurors about his efforts to help Donald Trump stifle unflattering stories during the 2016 campaign as testimony resumes in the historic hush money trial of the former president. David Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher, will be back on the stand Tuesday. SENT: 1,160 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: 1,200 words after trial resumes at 9:30 a.m.
ELECTION 2024-TRUMP-ELECTION INTERFERENCE — Donald Trump faces serious charges in two separate cases over whether he attempted to subvert the Constitution by overturning the results of a fair election. Yet it’s a New York case centered on payments to silence an adult film star that might provide the only legal reckoning this year. Some legal experts are dubious about attempting to tie a record-keeping case to manipulating an election. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
SUPREME COURT-TRUMP-CAPITOL RIOT-THINGS TO KNOW — The core issue being debated before the Supreme Court on Thursday boils down to this: Whether a former president is immune from prosecution for actions taken while in office — and, if so, what is the extent of the immunity? SENT: 1,070 words, photo.
ELECTION 2024-PENNSYLVANIA — Pennsylvania primaries on Tuesday will cement the lineup for a high-stakes U.S. Senate race between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick. Joe Biden and Donald Trump are expected to win their presidential nominations easily. SENT: 890 words, photos. Polls close at 8 p.m.
ELECTION 2024-BIDEN-ABORTION — President Joe Biden is heading to Tampa, Florida, to decry the state’s looming six-week abortion ban as his campaign continued to seize on reproductive rights as a key campaign issue. SENT: 890 words, photos, video.
TRUMP-HUSH MONEY — Donald Trump tried to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election by preventing damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public, a prosecutor told jurors at the start of the former president’s historic hush money trial. SENT: 1,270 words, photos, video. With TRUMP-HUSH MONEY-TAKEAWAYS — Opening statements provide a clear roadmap of how prosecutors will try to make the case that Trump broke the law, and how the defense plans to fight the charges.
BIDEN-EARTH DAY — President Joe Biden marked Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving 900,000-plus households in low- and middle-income communities — while criticizing Republicans who want to gut his policies to address climate change. SENT: 860 words, photos.
Tue., April 23 — Pennsylvania presidential primary.
Sun., April 28 — Puerto Rico Democratic presidential primary.
May 7 — Indiana presidential primary.
May 14 — Maryland presidential primary, Nebraska presidential primary and West Virginia presidential primary.
May 21 — California 20th Congressional District special election, Kentucky presidential primary, Oregon presidential primary.
For coverage and planning questions, the Nerve Center can be reached at +1 800 845 8450 (ext. 1600). For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call +1 844 777 2006.
Former president Donald Trump, center, awaits the start of proceedings at Manhattan criminal court, Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. Opening statements in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial are set to begin. Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records as part of an alleged scheme to bury stories he thought might hurt his presidential campaign in 2016. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool)
