The 21st century cheerleader is an athlete unlike any other. With a wide-eyed grin, flashy makeup and a glittering bow to match, she is required to be sturdy yet feminine; pliant yet steely. In “ Backspot ,” D.
W. Waterson’s feature directorial debut, the Canadian filmmaker has crafted a thrilling character portrait that puts those seemingly incongruent demands to the test. And, in the process, they have created a bold showcase for Devery Jacobs (“Reservation Dogs”), an actress who deftly captures the vexing tightrope walk required of young women in such a demanding, performance-driven, sport.
What’s immediately noticeable when you first meet Riley (Jacobs) are her eyebrows. Waterson doesn’t have us fixate on them but as you witness Riley going about her cheerleading practice with, among others, her girlfriend Amanda (Kudakwashe Rutendo), you can’t help but wonder why they’re so thinned out. She’s a capable athlete whose mind is definitely on nailing her flips and her landings; her eyebrows are the only clue that maybe something’s amiss.
Riley is driven, yes. Perhaps obsessively so. By the time you see Riley outside of that tightly-wound space where she’s required to be the best possible version of herself (all while smiling and pretending to not break a sweat) and you catch her absentmindedly picking at her eyebrows, you realize the stress of high school cheerleading — on top of other stressors in her life — may be too much for her to bear.
This be.
