Air

The ‘office-based, true story thriller/drama’ has got to sneakily be one of the best genres in film.

Generally touting all-star casts and behind-camera talent and needing to be laser-sharp in terms of script to hold audience interest, films like Spotlight, Moneyball, All the President’s Men, The Post et al. (also throwing Margin Call into this list, despite not being a ‘proper’ true story) are some of film’s best.

Ostensibly, these films usually revolve around journalists but, sometimes, you get a boardroom movie and the latest Ben Affleck and Matt Damon collab: Air is a strong addition to the roster.

The story of how Nike’s basketball division turned their ailing fortunes around because they banked on a rookie player who turned out to be one of history’s greatest athletes doesn’t necessarily sound like a riveting film idea (especially when said athlete only gets one line in the entire piece) but Affleck and co. absolutely make this work.

Leaning heavily into the eighties setting (dig those haircuts!) Affleck crafts a tightly-scripted drama which just works, you’ll never know you could be so invested in the NBA’s regulations of how much colour a shoe is allowed to have.

The ensemble is universally excellent, as you’d expect, and it’s great to see Affleck and Damon back on screen together and the decision to side-line Michael Jordan makes surprising sense. The focus is instead placed on those at Nike and the incredible Viola Davis as Jordan's mother Deloris who’s tied with Damon for MVP here.

A surprisingly engaging and interesting story and movie. More office-based films please.

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