Adam Driver’s Podium, a genetic ethics road movie
This film has an wonderful premise and lightness of tone that reminds one of Little Miss Sunshine. Harrison Ford plays an aging Olympian whose medal was melted down for the war effort. After his daughter, played by Brie Larson, wins a silver in shooting, he decides to get his medal recast. Adam Driver plays a bit of a layabout schlub to make it clear the Olympic drive skipped a generation. We have some incredible performances from everyone involved. Harrison Ford’s usual standoffishness was rather charming and refreshed what at times was a poorly paced film. Brie Larsen is believable as an Olympian, but not perhaps as Adam Driver’s daughter as presented. It’s clear the director is building a triumvirate with Driver as the odd man out, but it’s a movie that tells and doesn’t show. When we get scenes packed with interesting ephemera of the lives of the family, it’s a breath of fresh air that reinvigorates what at times drags. Scene to scene we are put into more and more incredible positions, but the framework to hold it is rather bare. The time we focus on Driver’s character feels misspent, it’s clear that Larsen and Ford are the interesting characters. They have a relationship with the camera that Driver somehow fails to establish himself. Perhaps it’s a result of being a triple threat. Driver wrote, directed, and stars. Perhaps he should have sent the script to a trustworthy editor and given it the additional time it needs with a fresh pair of eyes. With the script out of his hands and out of his head, I imagine that Driver’s natural charisma and incredible technique could have shown through more clearly. It’s a film that shoots for the gold, but barely makes bronze. And I don’t see it making it to the next Olympics.