Everyone has heard of Hoop Dreams, the film that more or less set the standard for sports documentaries. Like that film and countless other documentaries have proven, the key to a good doc is a healthy dose of realism and theatricality, making the mundane take on greater stakes, even for a brief moment. Thus, the director with a cinematic eye has become a valuable tool in the documentary world, capable of making handsome products that only sometimes err on the side of fiction.
More Than A Game must have truly been a passion project for Kristopher Belman, who pulls quadruple duty as director, producer, co-writer, and cinematographer. He certainly does set out to tell a true story but charts it as a series of recurring motifs, flashbacks if you will, intercut with talking head interviews. Despite covering a tired subject, Belman attempts and sometimes succeeds in uncovering new insight and if More Than A Game isn’t always original, it is at least constantly entertaining.
In telling the stories of the once-renowned high school basketball team led by the “Fab Five” – consisting of LeBron James, Dru Joyce III, Sian Cotton, Willie McGee and Romeo Travis – Belman structures a sports drama that opens on the humble roots of Akron, Ohio. As just another homegrown basketball team, the boys attend St. Vincent-St. Mary high school while striving to make it to the National Championships and beyond.
What separates Belman’s documentary from countless others focusing on disadvantaged youth coming together on the field, rink, or court is the inclusion of LeBron James, the unquestionable NBA superstar and MPV 2008-2009. Given unfettered access to James, Belman wisely avoids focusing on “King James” in order to dive into the past the five men share. Friends from an earlier age, they bonded on the court and outside of it in order to create a team built not only on hard work but an innate understanding of one another as athletes and as close friends.
Under the initially reluctant guidance of Coach Dru Joyce (father of the younger Dru Joyce III), the team improves by no small bounds and Belman captures their highs and lows through energetic editing and immersive research that traces the likely unfamiliar high school journeys that James undertook to attain superstar status. Belman gives adequate screentime to the four lesser known players who played alongside James for years – men who reflect both fondly and bitterly on frayed bonds, the stress and effort that goes into playing a good game, into shouldering the legacy the Fab Four (Romeo Travis only joined the team after they had somewhat established themselves) and keeping their friendship from suffering off the court.
Belman keeps the film moving by utilizing an assortment of game footage while composer Harvey Mason Jr. provides music by turns uplifting and harrowing. In its best moments, More Than A Game is assuredly a sports drama, effectively pulling the viewer into a story both familiar and yet untold. When it stumbles, it does so through the unavoidable lull that sets on when you realize that the team plays game after game, making small steps to the top, a grind that must have worn on the players and that does slow the film to a considerable degree midway. In the end, More Than A Game is a sometimes-moving, often able piece of filmmaking and documentary work that sheds light on a less known part of Lebron James’ life and the lives of the men who long ago shared the spotlight.
DVD Bonus Features
Though the extras are not skimped on but unfortunately prove to be little more than promotional pieces. “More Than A Film,” focuses on the development of the film, similarly humble as a news piece that became much more. “Behind the Music,” obviously covers Harvey Mason Jr.’s score, with the obligatory look at the process and commentary. Finally, “Winning Ways” looks at psychological effects of coaching and features interviews with players, coaches, and sports psychologists. They’re not bad extras, but given their lengths (10 minutes on average for each one), you can’t help but feel they’re tacked on to fill out an already informative feature film.
A DVD review of the film More Than A Game.
"More Than A Game" is on sale February 2, 2010 and is rated PG. Documentary, Sports. Directed by Kristopher Belman. Written by Kristopher Belman, Brad Hogan. Starring Dru Joyce, LeBron James, Romeo Travis, Sian Cotton, Willie McGee.
