Culture Blues

Tribeca 2011: Catching Hell

For the next month, Jeremiah and Jeff will be spending almost all of their free time watching and reviewing movies from this year's Tribeca Film Festival. It's about to get indie up in here!

Whoops.

The case of Steve Bartman is absolutely fascinating to me. The idea that your entire life could change because of something as innocuous as going after a fly-ball at a Cubs game is simply mind-boggling. What makes Bartman’s iconic gaffe all the more interesting is that Bartman, as he’s described in Alex Gibney’s Catching Hell, is the “JD Salinger of Cubs fans.” In a world where our pariahs often enjoy a symbiotic relationship with the media, Bartman has never been interviewed and never accepted any of the lucrative endorsement offers that have come his way.

Disappointingly, Bartman doesn’t break his silence for Catching Hell. But, while the closest Gibney comes to Bartman is another reporter’s tale of stalking him through a parking garage, Catching Hell is packed with enough interesting interviews to make it a must-watch for sports fans. Beyond the cavalcade of journalists we expect from an ESPN Films production, Gibney has tracked down virtually everyone from Bartman’s section. He’s got the bartender that came inches away from being Bartman himself, the security guard that had to sneak Bartman back to her own apartment to keep him safe, and even one of the assholes that chucked beer at him. Gibney also has an unrepentant Moises Alou, whose Bartman-directed tantrum could be partly to blame for what happened next.

Gibney analyzes footage of the Bartman play like it’s the Zapruder film. Using computer technology straight out of EA Sports, Gibney offers definitive evidence as to whether or not Bartman interfered. More interesting than analyzing the minutiae of footage we’ve seen a hundred times before is the new video Gibney uncovered for Catching Hell. Thanks to a camera-savvy group of fans seated a deck above Bartman, Catching Hell features video that shows firsthand the rollercoaster of the Cubs playoff collapse and the growing sense of rage misdirected at Bartman.

The only complaint I have about Catching Hell is the ponderous amount of time it spends with Bill Buckner (like the entire first 30 minutes). Gibney attempts to tie Buckner and Bartman together as scapegoats for their cities, but the comparison never quite gels. Buckner’s legacy was unquestionably tarnished, but he continued on in his lucrative career as a professional athlete. Bartman’s entire life was upended, just for being a fan.

VERDICT:  See it.