Like many films adapted from biographies of lesser known figures, the story of Boston Red Sox catcher Morris Berg demands the reaction: “That wasn’t already a movie?”
But there we were in Sundance on Friday night, lining up for the premiere Paul Rudd’s buzzy drama “The Catcher Was a Spy,” directed by Ben Lewin from a book by Nicholas Dawidoff. Rudd plays Berg, who in this telling is a Jewish closeted homosexual athlete recruited to stop the Nazis from developing an atom bomb.
That’s pretty heavy lifting for the most versatile of our leading men, let alone America’s Favorite Nice Guy Paul Rudd. It’s also staggering that such a story might be true and thus far untold, not just in our political climate but in independent film’s deep tradition of amplifying outsiders.
We meet Rudd’s Berg at the twilight of his baseball career, resisting a switch from playing to coaching. He’s already an odd man out because of his age, but also his superior intellect. Berg held three degrees in various fields, spoke several languages and was a frequent guest star on a popular radio quiz show before he was recruited to help his country during World War II.
“Catcher” was a hot property for many of the specialty labels housed at bigger studios before Hollywood arrived to Park City, TheWrap previously reported. Distributors were drawn by the script, which has UTA and Film Nation handling domestic and international sales rights, respectively.
We heard from more than one executive about their fandom of Lewin, whose 2012 film “The Sessions” starring Helen Hunt and John Hawkes did so-so in that year’s awards race. Many buyers showed up on Friday to Park City’s The MARC Theater excited to screen the film.
But Mighty Paul may have struck out. Almost instantly, the film confronted an underreported (perhaps on purpose) storyline about Berg’s sexuality that caused confusion over whether his suspected (and very taboo for the time) queerness was genuine or just fallout from his intense secrecy.
Sienna Miller stars as Berg’s female companion Estella*, whom he’s always disappointing and never marrying and leaving high and dry to go be a spy. They have a steamy love scene pressed up against a piano early on, but only after Berg violently beats a handsome Red Sox rookie who accuses him of being a “homo.”
The crowd got fidgety as exposition started flying: Berg is recruited into government service where Jeff Daniels, Guy Pearce and Paul Giamatti form a ragtag team of army generals and scientists who send him to Europe to figure out if a renowned physicist is developing an atom bomb for the Germans.
While you may think his quirky charm, high IQ and gift for languages might be the asset, the film dissolves into a dilemma over whether or not Berg can kill another man and justify it to his god.
So much of the nuance and the outright, exhilarating contradictions of a man like Berg are burned off in the exhaust of a roving and disjointed war story — like Berg’s implied affair with a male Japanese history buff (Hiroyuki Sanada) who assures him that, yeah, the U.S. and Japan are headed to conflict before they get down to persona business.
Rudd has won big with hard left turns, like his unexpected superhero success with “Ant-Man,” but that project hung on his affable charm. “Catcher” didn’t really give the Sundance audience anything to hold on to.
*Editor’s Note: We cannot stomach another woman-behind-the-man role for Sienna Miller. She deserves more. Someone make it happen.
13 Hottest Sundance Movies for Sale: From Ax Murderers to Notorious 'RBG' (Photos)
Park City, Utah, is about to be flush with cash -- and we're not talking about buying apres-ski gear. Here are the most promising sales titles of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
"Tyrel"
After his stunning performance in "Mudbound," Jason Mitchell is back in this drama alongside Caleb Landry Jones, Michael Cera and Ann Dowd. Buyers should go crazy for the film about a guy who goes on a weekend birthday trip to a cabin -- but he's the only black guy on the retreat.
Sundance
"Lizzie"
There's much interest in "Lizzie," which chronicles the life of Lizzie Borden, who was tried and acquitted for the 1892 ax murders of her father and stepmother. Chloe Sevigny, Kristen Stewart and Denis O'Hare star.
Sundance
"Burden"
Garrett Hedlund also gave a stellar performance in "Mudbound," playing the son of a man associated with the Ku Klux Klan. In "Burden," Hedlund is a repo man rising through the ranks of the KKK, but everything changes when he falls for a woman (Andrea Riseborough). The additional cast of Forest Whitaker and Usher should entice buyers.
Sundance
"The Miseducation of Cameron Post"
Chloe Grace Moretz stars as a high school teenager who gets caught in the backseat of her car with another girl. She's quickly shipped off for conversion therapy, where she for the first time feels like she can find her place among fellow outcasts. The strong themes of pain and loss while finding yourself and your identity should make it a hot title -- after all, it's based on Emily Danforth's acclaimed novel as well.
Sundance
"Juliet, Naked"
Perhaps one of the most anticipated films on the Sundance schedule, "Juliet, Naked" is an adaptation of Nick Hornby's best-selling novel. Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke and Chris O'Dowd star in this comedic drama about a woman who is in a transatlantic romance with a once-revered musician.
Sundance
"RBG"
What better time to release a documentary about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
Sundance
"Piercing"
Based on Ryu Murakami's critically acclaimed novel, this steamy yet bloody thriller will get Midnight audiences' --- and buyers' -- heart rate up.
Sundance
"A Kid Like Jake"
Director Silas Howard is debuting his film "A Kid Like Jake," featuring an ensemble that includes Claire Danes, Jim Parsons, Octavia Spencer, Priyanka Chopra, Ann Dowd and Amy Landecker. Howard, who's directed boundary-pushing TV series like "This Is Us" and "Transparent," here focuses on parents whose young son prefers princesses to action figures.
Sundance
"The Happy Prince"
Rupert Everett's directorial debut details the final three years of Oscar Wilde's life. Colin Firth and Emily Watson round out the cast of this period film.
Sundance
"American Animals"
There will never be enough heist films in the world, and the cast of "American Animals," which includes Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan and Blake Jenner, promises to pull off one of the biggest art thefts in recent history. Plus, it's a true story.
Sundance
"Ophelia"
"Ophelia" retells Shakespeare's "Hamlet" from the point of view of the melancholy Danish prince's presumed future wife -- played by Daisy Ridley, hot off "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" and "Murder on the Orient Express." Naomi Watts and Clive Owen round out the cast.
Sundance
"Sorry to Bother You"
This film boasts one of the most impressive casts of any film heading to the festival, and that won't be lost on buyers: Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Steven Yeun and Armie Hammer star in the original comedy.
Sundance
"Wildlife"
Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan star in Paul Dano's directorial debut, about a couple in a foundering marriage in small-town Montana in the 1960s.
Sundance
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Sundance 2018: Streaming companies and indie distributors will battle it out for these movies
Park City, Utah, is about to be flush with cash -- and we're not talking about buying apres-ski gear. Here are the most promising sales titles of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.