Viewed in
2011
Formats
HDTV (w/ commercials)
Premise
A documentary about sports scapegoats, focusing on Steve Bartman and Bill Buckner.
Loved
The attention to detail of the foul ball and the aftermath in those seats.
Liked
Use of Buckner as a contrast.
Thoughts
Quite a riveting doc.
The breakdown of when Bartman touched the ball and the immediate aftermath was exhaustive and compelling. Director Alex Gibney explored numerous aspects of how such a typical event became a perfect storm of irrational and embarrassing tide of sports fandom. I really liked all the angles that I never thought about, from the seven-second delay in Bartman's headset, to Moises Alou's immediate reaction, to the really interesting way how animosity originated from the crowd outside of the stadium, then seeped into the stadium.
All of this fascinating phenomenon would not have been captured had it not been for all the interviews with everyone around Bartman, including a pub owner who probably would've been the scapegoat had it not been for the wind. More importantly was the really good fan footage from people in that section. It was haunting to see these never-before-seen angles. Gibney used these to show how different things felt in the bleachers, and how the vitriol actually took time to develop.
Not surprisingly, Bartman refused to interview. But actually, this seemed to make the film better. Here was this poor fan caught in the storm, mysterious and aloof. As the subject of the documentary, his absence was just as mysterious, aloof and compelling. I loved the testimony of a writer who was assigned to hunt down Bartman for an interview.
Gibney wanted to explore the theme of scapegoats in sports. While it made sense to use Bartman and Bill Buckner as main subjects, I was disappointed that he did not take a wider look at it, with other incidents or sports. I don't think he was intentionally exploiting those two, but he could've done a more comprehensive job on that topic. I learned a lot of details, but I didn't learn anything about sports scapegoats.
Having said that, the Buckner stuff was equally intriguing. It was a great contrast and comparison to Bartman. It definitely put things in context with his experience and the Red Sox pre-2004 and post-2007. I was never a big baseball person, but the footage of his return to Fenway in 2008 was quite emotional and awesome.
I think even casual sports fans will find Catching Hell film enlightening and engaging, thanks to the Zapruder-like analysis of the foul ball and very thorough examinations of what Bartman and Buckner experienced.
What I would change
Nothing.
