Director Report Card: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (2008)

2. Sugar

There sure are a lot of movies entitled “Sugar,” aren't there? When movie fans asked about the title, what are they referring to? Are they talking about the 2004 gay-themed drama? Perhaps they are discussing the 2013 indie drama about a traumatized, homeless teenager? Or maybe the micro-budget horror film from 2005, that seemingly only I remember, is the topic? There was even a movie with that title released this year, an autobiographical film from Ghanese singer KiDi. Not to mention quite a few shorts and documentary also carry that title. No, they are probably talking about the 2008 baseball drama, “Sugar,” as this is the only one directed by well-known writer/director duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.

Miguel Santos, nicknamed “Sugar,” is a nineteen year old black man living in the Dominican Republic. His family is poor and his community is impoverished but his talent as a baseball pitcher might be his ticket to a better life. His ability to throw a ball soon catches the attention of local talent scouts. Santos heads off to an American training camp, where he's groomed for a position on a minor league team. Santos initially has success, playing well, sending money back home and partying in his downtime. However, he's soon struggling with the pressures of being a semi-pro athlete, with an injury, a more talented rival, and his growing sense of isolation as an immigrant.

With the Oscar-nominated “Half Nelson” on their resume, you'd think Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden – she is technically making her feature debut here, getting a co-director credit – would move onto a bigger budget project. Instead, the follow-up to their break-through is even more of an independent film. There are no known actors in the cast. Most of the dialogue is in Spanish. The budget had to have been minuscule. The beginning is set in the real streets of the Dominican Republic while even the later scenes take us to the gritty parts of New York or the humble communities of small town America. The film shows the director team being even more committed to their style and interest.

More than anything else, “Sugar” is the story of an immigrant coming to America. Like many fish-out-of-water stories, there is a degree of comedy here. Santo and his friends discover the amenities of American life – like cheap booze, pay-per-view porn, and French toast – soon enough. After graduating to the A-league, Miguel ends up staying with a conservative Christian family in the mid-west. Their daughter's friends attempt to teach him about foosball or meatloaf. There are sweet moments too, such as when a kindly waitress teaches Miguel about the different English phrases for cooking an egg. Or when he throws himself on the mercy of the patriarch he lives with.

“Sugar,” however, is about a little more than that. While in his home country, Miguel is repeatedly told what a great thing coming to America will be. He wants to take care of his family, who are very poor. However, he soon starts to feel lonely and home sick. It can be hard to find people who even speak his language. A telling scene has him buying an expensive suit in an American store, only to notice the tag says “Made in the Dominican Republic.” He sees very little of himself in the world around him, in the new people he meets. He experiences bigotry for the first time. “Sugar” shows how young men in poor countries are promised one thing by the American Dream, only to receive something very different instead.

Much how “Half Nelson” was something of a deconstruction of the “inspirational teacher” movie, “Sugar” is providing a grittier, more grounded look at the “inspirational sports drama.” The movie isn't set in the glitzy world of Major League baseball. Instead, it takes place in the training camps, the sausage factory of the sports world. Santo has raw talent but it's not enough to overcome the pressures of the job. Friendships are broken up by the demands of being traded from team to team. Rivalries are less bitter than they are practical, everyone competing for the same job. The underdog doesn't blow away the competition and get an uplifting victory. Instead, he drops out all together. “Sugar” shows a more realistic side of a poor man having his life changed by the sports world.

What I found most compelling about “Sugar” was the exact reason why Miguel struggles in the minor leagues. He's something of a perfectionist. People have been telling him he's talented his entire life. His first serious game goes very well for him. Yet he sees how the other talented players around him are sent home, because of injuries or personal slip-ups. He starts to feel the pressure mount that, if he can keep up a consistently perfect standard, he'll be sent home too. People tell him he's still doing fine but he feels every little mistake is a huge flaw. Which makes him nervous. Which causes him to make more serious mistakes, until his career really is in jeopardy. It's a vicious cycle any perfectionist who also has anxiety can relate to far too well.

What's really surprising about “Sugar” is how it doesn't end after Miguel decides he can't handle the pressures of being a pro-athlete. Instead, the film continues to follow him on his new life. He shacks up in a sleazy hotel, works as a busboy in restaurant, and eventually makes new friends. This is the sort of slice-of-life naturalism that Boden and Fleck were also fascinated with in “Half Nelson.” It also shows the important lesson of how dreams can sometimes do with a revision. Miguel doesn't get what he thinks he wants but ends up being satisfied with his lot in life after all.

In “Half Nelson,” Fleck and Boden occasionally had character flat-out explain the themes of the story to the audience. “Sugar” is thankfully less didactic than that. However, it still features some awfully on-the-nose symbolism. Miguel's deceased dad was a carpenter. It's a career he thinks about sometimes too. At home, he tinkers with fixing an old table. Once in new York, he seeks out a carpenter as a mentor, a man who specializes in doors... Almost as if Miguel himself is opening a door to a new life. His desire to rebuild things – such as a wonky drawer – is clearly symbolic of his desire to rebuild the life he's build for himself.  It's pretty obvious but at least it's not directly described via dialogue.

Unsurprisingly, most of “Sugar's” cast is composed of non-professional actors making their screen debut. The film was the debut for Algenis Perez Soto, who plays Miguel. Soto has a raw quality to his acting, that makes him seem like a totally normal person. This is well suited to the scenes where Miguel is interacting with his new homeland, awkwardly attempting to learn English or flirt with a girl who doesn't even understand him. Soto is also a gifted physical performer. He says a lot with his body language, which is especially valuable during the ambiguous final shot of the film. Soto hasn't done too much acting since this, though Boden and Fleck did find room for him in “Captain Marvel.”

Another continuing trick of Boden and Fleck's is their overly gritty visual sense. Yes, I'm talking about the handheld, shaky cam shit. Luckily, it's not as overdone here as it was in “Half Nelson.” We still have scenes where the image shakes unnecessarily. Or the image roughly zooms in for no reason, like a slow pan on Soto's face during a crowd sequence. I get why the directors like this style. As it lends further on-the-ground naturalism to their gritty, grounded-in-reality stories. But I still sort of dislike this aesthetic in general. What's even more annoying is that other moments in “Sugar” are quite striking, like the way camera visually captures Miguel's growing unease during an attempt to take performance-enhancing drugs.

The movie's soundtrack is also a little too on-the-nose sometimes. There's not much in the way of music for most of the first half, some light scoring or local songs complementing mostly natural sound. Which is fitting for a story concerned with simple people in simple locations. However, after coming to America, popular songs appear in the film. TV on the Radio plays over a montage of the team's various victories. Later, the film actually uses that most overplayed of songs: Leonard Cohen's “Hallelujah,” though at least its performed in Spanish. I do like the Moby cut that plays over the end credits, as it takes us out on a fittingly melancholy if sweeping final note.

Though it was produced by HBO Films, “Sugar” did get a theatrical release. The film was well received but didn't earn any Oscar nominations, like Fleck and Boden's first feature. “Sugar” doesn't have the emotional impact of that one either, though it's not for a lack of trying. In other ways, the film shows the filmmaker's easing into their own style a little more comfortably. It's a strong second feature and a generally likable movie. And that's coming from a guy who fucking hates baseball. [Grade: B]