Two pieces of “inside baseball”: the title of James Ponsoldt’s sturdy first feature, the comedy-drama “Off the Black,” refers to a pitch barely off home plate—a ball instead of a strike. And, anytime a movie reviewer opens a critique with “you’ve seen this before,” remember you’ve seen them saying that before, and that over-familiarity with form and storytelling devices and film history and seeing eight or ten movies a week means that you will see them saying that again and again, and again and again they will overlook the virtues of a movie like this. (Familiarity doesn’t breed contempt; only light-blinded movie crickets.) Nick Nolte invests himself fully, boozily (and in one bold scene, literally nakedly) into another valuable, leonine role, as Ray Cook, a high school baseball umpire in his sixties who gets a second chance at fatherhood with a symbolic son, 17-year-old pitcher Dave (Trevor Morgan). Their eccentric interplay after he calls a pitch that causes Dave’s hometown team to lose is carefully detailed, and the combination of anger and hope is compelling. (The culmination, where Ray convinces Dave to attend his fortieth high-school reunion in the guise of his son, works in wondrous ways.) Ponsoldt’s bittersweet layers of father-and-son conflict never stoop to melodrama; the confidence and richness of the story’s telling is matched by the beautiful cinematography by Tim Orr (“All the Real Girls,” “Raising Victor Vargas”). With Timothy Hutton, Sally Kirkland, Michael Higgins. 90m. (Ray Pride)
“Off the Black” opens Friday at Landmark Century.trevor
Ray Pride is Newcity’s film critic and a contributing editor to Filmmaker magazine.
His multimedia history of Chicago “Ghost Signs” will be published soon. Previews of the project are on Twitter and on Instagram as Ghost Signs Chicago. More photography on Instagram.
Reading Pictures: Movies In Black-And-White Almost nothing has been written about Walter Hill or his great work. A new book, which the director cooperated with, is "A Walter Hill Film" by critic Walter Chaw. There's much I learned even as a lifelong student of Hill's work: "The Warriors." "Streets of Fire." "48 HRS."
Talking Screens, July 9-15, 2021: The Bite of the Black Widow | The Ferocity of Lydia Lunch | The Rage of The Forever Purge Talking Screens, A Week In Chicago Film, July 9-15, 2021 Disney continues its experiment with simultaneous releases on screen and on premium-priced streaming video with quarter-billion-dollar investment “Black Widow”; “Lydia Lunch: The War Is Never Over” is a necessary portrait of a powerful artist; and “Platform” captures the fight of Wushu world champion Iranian sisters. “The Forever Purge” seeks hope…
Talking Screens: A Week in Chicago Film, February 19-25, 2021 OPENERS Searchlight Pictures' "Nomadland" expands its theater reach while debuting on Disney sibling Hulu; its reception from critics' groups continues, with nods last week from the Toronto circle (adding to a lengthy roster including the National Society of Film Critics, Boston and London) for best film, director Chloé Zhao and a flinty Frances McDormand. McDormand's Fern is on the road…
Talking Screens: A Week in Chicago Film, February 12-18, 2021 OPENERS The delay of the Oscars until April 25 was one of many changes in the movie industry in the past year; movies released in the U. S. through February 28 are deemed eligible if there was an intention to have released them theatrically. The standard-bearers opening this week include Shaka King's sleek Chicago-set marvel, "Judas & The Black Messiah,"…
