Minus the clichés, “Rez Ball” is a winning basketball flick

After making a name for herself in episodic television, director Sydney Freeland jumps to features in “Rez Ball” from Netflix. Freeland also pens the film’s screenplay, which takes inspiration from Michael Powell’s book “Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation“.

Former WNBA player Heather Hobbs (Jessica Matten) has returned to her hometown of Chuska, New Mexico, to coach the Chuska Warriors, a high school basketball team rich in Native American heritage. The team is led by star player Natanni Jackson (Kusem Goodwind) and his second-in-command, Jimmy Holiday (Kauchani Bratt). While Jimmy is a hot shot on the court, he’s still grieving following the death of his mother and a younger sister a year earlier at the hands of a drunk driver. Despite his inner turmoil, Natanni carries the team to a victory during its season opener.

The storyline takes a dramatic twist as Natanni tragically takes his own life, leaving Jimmy grappling with the weight of becoming the new team captain amid the team’s grief. Coach Hobbs is tasked with finding effective ways to support and guide the boys through their sorrow while striving to lead them to a victorious state championship.

“Rez Ball” is a film that most viewers have seen before. Following the loss of the star player, the team struggles to adjust. They go on a losing streak, have internal fighting, and eventually come together with a simplistic team-building exercise. However, the film’s message of resilience and unity essentially glides through when it focuses on Native American culture. One aspect I enjoyed about the basketball scenes in the movie is the use of their native language to call plays, making it difficult for the opposing teams to follow.

Primarily, the meat of the film’s acting goes to Jessica Matten and Kauchani Bratt, carrying the bulk of the film’s weight. Matten has a storyline about wanting to move, like Jimmy has a love interest story with his coworker Krista (Zoey Reyes), who also tutors him in the Navaho dialect. No, on the one hand, this is an ensemble case, so I didn’t expect everyone to get a storyline. However, high school basketball films such as “Coach Carter” were able to balance out the storylines between the players. It’s also surprising that rising actress Amber Midhunter is neglected to a clichéd girlfriend while the usually reliable Julia Jones, who portrays Jimmy’s recovering alcoholic mother, doesn’t have much to do.

Nevertheless, they succeeded if the “Rez Ball” goal was to provide a good old-fashioned crowd pleaser.

Final Grade: B

“Rez Ball” will be released on Netflix on Friday, September 27, 2024.