'Arrows' gives sports drama Native American bent
Movies featuring Native American heroes apparently are required to have their main characters hook up with their animal spirits and/or reconnect with their heritage before they can actually accomplish heroic actions.
Even Val Kilmer's mixed-race FBI agent in 1992's "Thunderheart" had his white self pushed aside by his Native-American self so he could tap into the spirit world and therefore be able to solve mysterious reservation killings.
So it is with Steve Rash's unassuming "Crooked Arrows," a standard-issue sports underdog drama complete with a full range of sports movie clichés, lots of bungled, overdone slow-motion shots, a too-familiar outcome, plus a conflicted hero who must get down with his animal spirit self if he is to succeed as a coach and bring honor to his tribe.
Because "Crooked Arrows" is framed as a uniquely American Indian experience, it stands a little taller than most generic sports underdog films.
It begins in the year 1200 A.D. when we watch our nation's indigenous athletes playing a crude form of lacrosse, tossing balls to each other through a forested field.
Yes, lacrosse. The game that only sounds French. But it was actually created by native North Americans as a way to amuse and honor their spirits.
Suddenly, the ancient players morph into present-day players of the Sunnaquot Nation getting ripped to pieces on the field by the powerful (and white) prep school team from Coventry, with more money and apparently better coaching.
Meanwhile, half-Native American Joe Logan ("Superman Returns" star Brandon Routh) presses for expansion of the local reservation's casino that will bring in millions of dollars, but he needs the local council's blessing.
Joe's conservative father, the Tribal Chairman (Gil Birmingham), makes him a deal: He will grant permission for the expansion, but only if Joe can find his animal spirit. That, plus coach their lacrosse team to a few wins.
As we discover, Joe used to be star on the Coventry lacrosse team, but, not being fully white, he never felt he was a truly accepted member.
His white former girlfriend Julie (Crystal Allen), now with a doctorate working on behalf of the tribe, cuts Joe no slack for his ambitious plans to expand the casino. She calls him "Joe Money, pimping out his people!"
Then there's Joe's sister Nadie (the cute Chelsea Ricketts), actually a better lacrosse player than some of the guys, but she encounters chauvinistic attitudes when she tries to play.
Nadie wants Joe to succeed, but he's too focused on dollars to be concerned with a loser lacrosse team.
What happens? Not much of a surprise, although "Crooked Arrows" almost breaks free of its conventional treatment. In a nod to Nicolas Cage's World War II drama "Windtalkers," Joe comes up with the idea of teaching his players to speak their native tongue to confuse the opposition.
But apparently, no Native Americans can do this, so it falls to Julie, Joe's white ex-girlfriend, to teach some of the students their own language.
And why exactly must Joe be half white? Do movie producers think that white audiences will be more accepting of ethnic movie characters if they're partly white? ("Blood In, Blood Out," "Thunderheart," "Flaming Star" and a few other titles come to mind.)
Steve Rash, whose best work was 1978's Oscar-nominated biodrama "The Buddy Holly Story," is content to direct "Crooked Arrows" as a beefed-up made-for-TV drama suitable for broadcast on the History Channel.
It's safe and edgeless, with some well-executed lacrosse scenes that work well, despite those slow-motion shots constantly threatening to undermine their limited impact.
“Crooked Arrows”
★ ★ ½
Starring: Brandon Routh, Gil Birmingham, Crystal Allen
Directed by: Steve Rash
Other: A Branded/Peck Entertainment release. Rated PG-13 for sugguestive references. 100 minutes