Set against the enchanting backdrop of 1960’s Brooklyn, Extra Innings tells the story of a young man who is caught between pursuing his dream and staying devoted to his Syrian Jewish family that is afflicted with mental illness.
Movies like these I admire. They’re truthful stories told from raw places and while they may not feel completely refined they still touch the heart. These movies are perfect chances for entire crews to learn and practice their trade in a stripped-down format that lives by the director’s mastery of cinematic basics. A cut here, music there, a shot this way. It all adds up to one functioning movie that, at its heart, wants to tell you something. In “Extra Innings”’ case, the story really wraps itself around the sport of baseball (but really the aspiring player David) and the antagonist of the entire movie: mental health issues. While the story’s convoluted texture and occasional fault derive some energy-less drama it’s likely because the flow of the story matches the real-life details being told to us.
Based on the true-life story from Albert Dabah, “Extra Innings” is a look into the pivotal moments of his life and how baseball helped him cope with his family’s struggles. David, a young boy, wants to play baseball almost costing him a bar mitzvah. After his troubled older brother Morris kills himself, David doubles down, choosing baseball for his release. In the prosperity that follows, we find an older David, playing the best ball of his life (for the same team he played for when he was 10?). A scout asks him to play ball out in California. His parents forbid him from leaving, they want him to stay in the community. He rebels. He moves in with his charismatic older sister. Things get kinda weird between them. Her girlfriend dumps her. She takes him to the beach, then she jumps off a cliff. He plays more baseball. He cries. His dad finally comes out to watch him play, no longer angry at his son for leaving the family.
While our protagonist, David, carries the movie’s perspective, its story really centers on the family itself. More specifically the movie focuses on the three (or four) siblings: Morris, David, and Vivian. If you look at it from that perspective it grows in scope and blossoms into a more realized vision of a Syrian Jewish family in the ’60s failing to cope with a streak of mental health concerns. David grows, succeeds, loses, and learns to venture out on his own but it’s only for a little while before the family drama takes over. Every actor in this film should be commended for putting their all into this story. I imagine this being a productive experience for everyone as they get to relive certain moments and bring truth to a family’s history. Are there plot holes and missing character motivations? Definitely. The story can feel cobbled together at times and asks the audience to adhere to simple dramatic principles instead of complex emotions.
As I mentioned previously, movies like these are exercises in basic cinematic language. Shot-reverse shot. L cuts. J Cuts. Diegetic music. They are opportunities to practice the bread and butter of making movies. In some instances, it succeeds. A select few moments merited unique cinematography and even ended on some gorgeous shots. Still, other experiments failed and some moments felt forced or uneven. Some scenes done in singular shots function on a basic level but fail to elevate the story and some one-takes function to take us out of the story by calling attention to its faulty construction. I don’t bemoan those moments. I think it gives a moment of attention to the craftspeople involved and demonstrates valuable lessons. In this instance, I would argue it doesn’t ruin the movie but serves only as a mild distraction.
Music comes and goes in a narrative rush. It practically propels the next scene onward. From beach jams to classical compositions to standard synth scores we’re guaranteed a successful musical composition throughout. I would argue the music added the most tonal depth to several scenes and helped smooth out some of the production kinks. It doesn’t live and die by its music, but music as a whole lifts this piece up.
You may read the story breakdown and find it very confusing. I craved a more dramatically precise story: emotional release, catharsis, stronger character developments. Still, this movie feels uniquely positioned for its director. Perhaps all that stuff is lying there, under the surface and those scenes made the cutting room floor. Perhaps this movie functions as the director’s catharsis (after all the director lived this story.) I think it serves its function well though in reminding us that mental health issues need not be something we deal with alone. Healthy coping mechanisms exist (in this case baseball) and it’s up to us to help each other know we’re not alone. Clunky as it may be I still got that feeling from “Extra Innings,” even if it didn’t quite master its style.
“Extra Innings” had its World Premiere at the Manhattan Film Festival on May 5th
