Ephemeris of the Mind (Film Review) Shooting Stars
Time to read: 2 min read
Movie Poster
We may be seeing the beginnings of something special here in Akron.
Review
Based on the autobiography of LeBron James on his childhood, the film follows LeBron (Marquis Mookie Cook) and his childhood friends, namely Lil Dru (Caleb McLaughlin), Willie McGee (Avery Serell Wills Jr.), Sian Cotton (Khalil Everage), and Romeo Travis (Sterling “Scoot” Henderson). The “Fab Five” went on to dominate high school basketball both in Ohio and the broader United States.
It’s an interesting look at LeBron’s beginnings as a basketball star and pivotal moments in his youth, such as when he met his wife Savannah (Katlyn Nichol) and when he got suspended for breaking Ohio High School Athletic Association rules. The story is a tad lackluster, unlike Coach Carter, where the team and players are overcoming obstacles on their basketball quest, LeBron basically dominated high school basketball. While some of his teammates had individual troubles, such as being too short or having troubled family backgrounds, the obstacles don’t become major focuses of the story and instead the team cruises through their games with little resistance.
There are a few things I like about the film, such as the sleek editing with text overlaying the scenes. I also like how they cast two real basketball players, Marquis Mookie Cook (University of Oregon) and Scoot Henderson (Portland Trail Blazers). There are, however, some inaccuracies with the film. For instance, Keith Dambrot (Dermot Mulroney), LeBron’s first high school coach, did not leave the team during their final game. LeBron also got into trouble with OHSAA, not by accepting a jersey from a fan, but by accepting two vintage jerseys from a clothing store in exchange for posing for pictures. These inaccuracies don’t really serve a purpose other than falsely portraying Dambrot as a selfish and irresponsible coach and absolving LeBron of personal responsibility in his suspension.
Conclusion
Not a terrible film but I'd rather watch LeBron highlights instead.