Review: Air – Courting a legend

Directed by Ben Affleck
Starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Viola Davis

8/10

The best non-fiction narratives give you a peek behind the curtain. An insight into an industry you don’t work in. Air is an excellent example of the form. In this case, it is a glimpse into the 1984 world of Nike as they sign up high school basketballer Michael Jordan.

Don’t be confused into thinking this is a Michael Jordan story. The excellent cast does not even include a Michael character. In a purposeful directorial decision, we never even see Michael’s face. The key players on this team are Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), a failing contract negotiator who is putting all his chips on the Jordan gamble. Damon’s consistent colleague and film Director Ben Affleck is Nike CEO Philip Knight, who recently took Nike public and feels pressured to play it safe despite his high-reward corporate mottos scattered through the film. Jason Bateman and Marlon Wayans complete the Nike team in well-performed but ultimately forgettable roles. Finally, the supreme Viola Davis sits comfortably in a role she knows so well – the strong wise family matriarch as Deloris Jordan.

This is not a basketball story either. In fact, there is very little basketball. This is a story of corporate negotiations. The fascinating insight is learning how the industry works – the roles of the agents, the product design, the pitch, the meetings, and the struggle. Air is reminiscent of Moneyball where the sports are adjacent, not central to the story.

This is also a story of breaking the rules… and rewriting them for a next generation. Sonny breaks the chain of command by approaching Mrs Jordan directly. Nike breaks the NBA rules on shoe colour ratios. Most importantly, Mrs Jordan foresees her son’s future potential, and breaks the rules as she (politely) demands a profit share of all Jordan branded products… incredible wisdom with hindsight, but yet another risky gamble when Jordan is yet to put a sneaker on NBA courts. Air champions the risk takers and the future forecasters.

Finally, Air is a story of the 80s. From the opening montage of cassettes, Rubiks, trivial pursuit, and Rocky, you have no doubt where your time machine has landed. It’s a time when contracts are delivered by a mailroom trolley instead of email, the powerful shout into car phones and the plebs stand at phone booths, the computer took up half the office desk and the game footage is watched on VCR. Eventually the 80s nostalgia is laid on too thick – one montage is great, but a second is suffocating. One can’t fault the soundtrack though, blending 80s champions like Dire Straits and Cyndi Lauper with upcoming artists.

Air is a seat at the 80s corporate board-table. It will bring back fond memories for those who lived through the era, and provide a fascinating insight for those born after it.

MELISSA MANN