‘Backspot’ Review – The Triumphs And Tumbles Of Cheerleading And Womanhood [SXSW 2024]

I can’t recall a film ever giving me motion sickness.

Backspot opens from the first-person perspective of a female cheerleader tossing, tumbling, and flying through the air. It’s a dizzying, visceral point of view. It is also necessary to grasp the ferocious physicality that each team member experiences on any given day. The opening scene makes it nigh impossible not to be in awe of, and terror for, these athletes.

As obvious as it sounds, that is only the beginning. Riley (Devery Jacobs) is a backspotter striving for greatness on the mat. She appears to be satisfied – she’s in a loving and supportive relationship with fellow cheerleader Amanda (Kudakwashe Rutendo) – but her ambition leaves her anxious, high-strung, and susceptible to overstepping boundaries and social cues. Riley’s hard work appears to pay off when she and Amanda are invited to join the Thunderbirds, a high-octane professional cheerleading squad run by the intimidating Eileen McNamara (Evan Rachel Wood). The step up from amateur to professional introduces a spate of new pressures that threaten to push the steadfast but vulnerable Riley to the brink.

Director D. W. Waterson conveys the twin tumult of professional cheerleading and young womanhood through stylized visual flourishes. Our first inkling that something isn’t quite right with Riley occurs early on after a tense dinner with her mother. The scene is bathed in bluish-purple lighting from her bedroom, with extreme closeups of her face as she systematically yanks hairs from her eyebrow. Waterson repeats the achingly cool, low-light color scheme throughout the film, notably in intimate or personally reflective scenes that are undercut by Riley’s anxieties. Another recurring motif is montage, which communicates the high-octane rush of both cheerleading practice and teenage romance. There are shades of Heartstopper and Euphoria in these aesthetic choices. However, Waterson grounds them in a tangible discomfort that effectively relays the complexities of being a teenage woman athlete.

Backspot doesn’t just show those complexities; its characters actively engage in tricky but profound conversations about how athleticism and womanhood interact. During a school sleepover, one of Riley’s classmates tactlessly critiques cheerleading as a male-oriented fantasy. Riley claps back, touting their elite physicality (“we do mindblowing shit”) and how what they do, not what they look like, matters. It’s a powerful moment, but not entirely true. A fellow cheerleader points out minutes later that she wasn’t picked by the Thunderbirds, despite matching Riley and Amanda’s skill, because she wasn’t as thin as they were. It’s a point Riley can’t respond to. Another memorable interaction occurs between Riley and Eileen after a Thunderbird is seriously injured. Riley, who idolizes Eileen, is clearly seeking emotional support, but Eileen shuts her down. She reminds Riley that she isn’t her mother, and if she were Bill Belichick, this interaction wouldn’t happen.

The themes and character beats built into Backspot are incredibly compelling and keep up the film’s pace and vibrancy. Surprisingly, as physically and emotionally demanding as the film appears, the resolutions it offers feel too tidy. There is no glory in seeing teenagers, especially teenage women, endlessly suffer. Still, the film puts Riley in situations that probably would’ve bore significant consequences and instead offers her relatively easy ways out. It could very well be the point; Riley’s anxiety about excellence and ambition isn’t worth the physical and mental toll when the rewards are fleeting. However, it’s worth asking if Riley’s lessons are well-earned without a significant rock bottom moment that matches the trajectory of her spiral.

However Riley’s story resolves, Devery Jacobs does great work in crafting her. She effectively communicates the full spectrum of Riley’s necrotic tension: paralyzing fear, fierce defensiveness, and cold, calculating nastiness. She hits the big moments well, but what she conveys in silence, with a straight-on look or side-eye, carries a lasting impact. Evan Rachel Wood serves as the perfect foil and reinforcement of Riley’s best and worst impulses. Rather than just play Eileen as a rabid tyrant, Wood imbues her with enough contrasting warmth and stoicism to understand why Riley would be drawn to her. 

Backspot’s unsteadying introduction sets the stage for a tense, creative tale of teenage ambition and how it shapes young womanhood. While a hyper-specific experience in its own right, Waterson succeeds in broadening the world of professional cheerleading and pulling audiences into it. What we find is brutal and concerning, especially when you see the physical and psychological bruises. It’s also vital to our ongoing conversations around the demands we place on women of any age.

Backspot had its International Premiere at SXSW 2024 in the Festival Favorite section. The film will debut in theaters in May 2024 courtesy of XYZ Films. 

Director: D.W. Waterson

Screenwriter: Joanne Sarazen

Rated: NR

Runtime: 92m