Image: Courtesy of Prime
As you watch this new feature film, a question arises: What on earth could Sonny Vaccaro, Marketing Associate for Nike, have done if he had dedicated his fighting spirit and conviction to greater things than what was in “Air”? becomes the game of his life.
Sonny (Matt Damon) is in his mid-40s and wimps because he isn’t athletic. But in 1984, as a basketball admirer and professional in selling feelings and stories, he was irrefutably convinced of one thing: the unknown Michael Jordan is the athletic talent of his generation, a player of the century. The lad, now a 60-year-old living legend, has to be outfitted with one of Nike’s sneakers.
Too bad nobody wants to hear that, let alone believe it – neither Sonny’s direct boss Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman) nor his quirky boss Phil Knight, who director Ben Affleck is.
How Sonny runs into one wall despite the opposition, only to bounce back from the next is exactly how “Air,” teasing the true story, rises above the banality it might be attributed to: “Air” is less about the invention of a bait, a product, a sneaker, the 1985 “Nike Air Jordan 1”, but much more about the human: instinct, feeling, belief.
Of course, “Air” can be interpreted as an ode to consumerism and the American entrepreneurial dream. But if you take off those dark glasses, you see a story that is worth telling in and of itself. That’s easy because the screenplay is a skill that Affleck was smart enough not to write himself. Here “Live by Night” (2016) was probably a lesson for him, his only film in which he crashed while producing, directing, playing and writing. Alex Convery, an unknown quantity in Hollywood, developed a narrative with a special drive. One that manages to stage Sonny’s actions as a universal game on the move, making the arenas of work and business the behind-the-scenes field of the sport (like “Moneyball” or “Jerry Maguire”). Sonny, the underdog, goes on the offensive, dribbles out Jordan’s agent (Chris Messina), building on assists from Rob and colleague Howard “H” White (Chris Tucker), while not just aligning with the coach’s (Affleck) strategy . Then he faces the defense: not Adidas and Converse, who court Jordan with deals, but his mother Deloris. “Air” does not portray young Jordan as a compact, full-blown character, but outlines him as a taciturn phantom. Viola Davis shines as Deloris, who knows how to give her child roots that enable flights of fancy. A formidable time capsule from the 80s thanks to the costume, make-up, scenery and sound, “Air” condenses into a pointed pleasure in which the ensemble passes the balls to each other. A sports fairy tale full of pop culture about a royal business marriage that puts you in a good mood.
“Air – The big hit”: United States, 2023 112 mins,
OÖN Rating: five out of six stars
Source: Nachrichten
