Final Rating: 3.5/5
There’s not much in D.W. Waterson’s debut feature, Backspot, that hasn’t been seen before in a multitude of other sports movies. It hits a lot of familiar beats as we follow Riley (Devery Jacobs) on her path to become a key member of an all-star cheer squad. It is the way that Waterson takes us on this journey that makes it compelling.
Riley bursts onto the screen with a fiery ego. During a trial to join the Thunderhawks–the aforementioned all-star squad–she breaks the rules to perform twice when everyone else only gets one shot. The commitment and passion she has to be good at what she does is immediately evident. She manages to capture the attention of the Thunderhawks’ coach Eileen (Evan Rachel Wood) and secure a spot on the team.
Riley is joined on the team by her girlfriend Amanda (Kudakwashe Rutendo) and their friend Rachel (Noa DiBerto). The three girls have unique experiences with joining the team and with Eileen’s coaching methods. Riley is drawn to Eileen’s no nonsense attitude and the fact that she’s gay, while Amanda and Rachel are not so taken by her strict demeanor and cliché handling of athletes.
It’s nothing new to have an instructor or coach verbally deriding their students for the purpose of eliciting a better performance out of them. Like many elements throughout Backstop, they’re initially presented in a manner that’s been done before. But Joanne Sarazen’s screenplay and Waterson’s direction ensure that what looks familiar is not routine.
While the story of Backstop largely revolves around cheerleading, the propulsive energy comes from Riley’s many relationships: her girlfriend, her coach, and her mother. Riley and Amanda are a great fit, belting lyrics from the Legally Blonde musical together in the car and supporting each other unabashedly. Riley admires Eileen and wants to be more like her. She idolizes her in a borderline unhealthy manner. Riley and her mother (Shannyn Sossamon) are a bit more strained. Despite her mother’s love and care for her daughter, there’s a bit of a gulf between them as there tends to be with rebellious teenagers.
All of these relationships undulate throughout the film. Riley’s relationship with Amanda becomes strained as their commitment to cheerleading is not on the same level. Her relationship with Eileen adds a reciprocal element as they find commonalities between the two of them. The gulf between Riley and her mother grows and shrinks as each comes to terms with who the other is.
The changes in the relationships Riley has come across naturally. They’re generally simple and straightforward evolutions, but the performances and chemistry shine so brightly in those moments. Waterson draws tender performances from their entire cast. It’s no surprise that one of Backstop’s Canadian Screen Award nominations is for Best Casting in a Film.
As someone who has primarily followed the Academy Awards when it comes to bestowing films with honors, I’m in uncharted waters when it comes to evaluating a Best Casting category. Casting good actors is important, but to paraphrase Kurt Russell’s Herb Brooks in Miracle, it’s not about the “best” actors, it’s about the “right” ones. The right actors are the ones that bring something special to a part and that have undeniable chemistry with the rest of the ensemble. In this regard, Jason Knight and John Buchan nail a perfect handstand as the whole cast feels wonderfully at ease with each other from start to finish.
D.W. Waterson’s first film was a short also titled Backstop and starring Devery Jacobs (who has worked with Waterson on all three of their films). Those brief four minutes revolve around what would become the most unsettling sequence from the feature film. Jacobs’ character (in both) assists one of her coaches attempting to improve the flexibility of another cheerleader’s split.
The feature contains other unsettling moments where Riley is shown picking at her eyebrows and suffering panic attacks. The close up shots of Riley’s eyebrows as her fingers search for the next hair to extirpate are very disconcerting. The film pulls no punches in showing how physically, emotionally, and psychologically dangerous cheerleading can be.
Though the story in Backdrop is familiar, the depth of the characters and attention to detail by the team in front of and behind the camera elevate it. Waterson’s direction and editing move the film along fluidly, never lacking for momentum as it builds to a marvellously cathartic ending.
