The Heart of the Game Review
By Joe Lozito
Tough Love and Basketball
Before a big game, Roosevelt High School basketball coach Bill Resler reads a letter from a former player, now coaching a girl's team in South Africa. The former Roosevelt High Roughrider remembers the time when "everything was wrapped up in this one moment". This is exactly the spirit that director Ward Serrill captures in his effecting documentary "The Heart of the Game".
Like Jeffrey Blitz, the filmmaker who made spelling bees interesting in 2002's doc "Spellbound", Mr. Serrill lucks out in his choice of subjects. I don't know much about high school girl's basketball, but the Roosevelt High Roughriders seem like an extraordinary team to me. From the footage in the film, the 'Riders almost consistently trounce their opponents. Their players are a charming group who apparently live for the game, particularly the charismatic young Darnellia Russell, the ostensible star of the film. Ms. Russell joins Roosevelt as a willful freshman and one of the few people of color on the mostly white team. On the court, she is a dynamo, frequently taking the team to victory on her talented shoulders.
The man behind the women is Coach William Resler, a tax attorney and lecturer at the University of Washington Business School. Under Mr. Resler's eccentric tutelage (he creates "themes" for his seasons like "pack of wolves" and "pride of lions") the team seems constantly on the verge of the state championship.
It doesn't seem appropriate to call it luck, but somehow Mr. Serrill ends up with a story that would make any Hollywood sports movie proud. There's the underdog team, the eccentric coach, the rivalry with the local Bulldogs and even a rival coach in the formidable Joyce Walker, an ex-player herself. But it's the reality of the situation that makes it so compelling. When Ms. Russell's personal life takes her on a detour which provides the meat of the film's second-half, Mr. Serrill doesn't take us into her personal life, but keeps the film on the court where it belongs - adding depth to her playing and to Mr. Resler's basketball-as-life approach to coaching.
Mr. Serrill, using narration by Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, paints a portrait of a team of girls throwing their all into the sport they love. He may not go into the depth we'd want from a documentary - he concentrates instead on the game they play and love. They're a group of girls that are inspiring in their dedication and aptitude. Mr. Serrill captures the thrill they feel in each game and, above all, the heart.
