Bored one night, I was roaming through Netflix trying to find a film to watch. I happened upon a film with James Van Der Beek playing the lead and I needed no other reason to hit play. Van Der Beek is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the heartthrob Dawson Leery in the popular teen drama television series of the late 1990s and early 2000s, Dawson’s Creek, in which Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams and Joshua Jackson also starred. His presence was definitely a highlight of the film. Who wouldn’t want to look at his beautiful face and hear his charming voice for an hour and a half?
The film I chose to watch, Backwards (2012), to my surprise, was both written and starred in by a local actress, Sarah Megan Thomas. Backwards follows a thirty-year-old rower, Abi Brooks, who failed to make the Olympic boat for the second time. Being offered a position as an alternate, she quits the team, and soon finds herself as the crew coach at the high school she had once attended, and where her old flame, Van Der Beek’s character, Geoff, is now the athletic director. Though Backwards did not receive great reviews, and understandably so when one views the film, it was entertaining in an easy to watch, sort of wholesome way (rated PG). The film is relevant to the Haverford girl in so much as a few of the shots were actually filmed here on the campus of Haverford College and in the town of Haverford. The film is also relevant because it depicts a woman at a crossroads that each of us within a few years time will come to face: when all that one knows, whether a life of sports, as Abi knew, or the life in school we know, will cease, with it comes the difficult question of what’s next.
Of the shots actually filmed on Haverford’s campus, there were a couple of the outside of the apartments and a couple within an apartment’s interior. In the film, they were meant to be the living spaces for the rowers at the Olympic training site. Also, if you so chose to watch the film, count to see how many times you see people wearing Haverford College t-shirts! In addition, the shots in the town of Haverford take place at Elizabeth Maar, when Abi is shopping for a dress to chaperon the prom with Geoff, and at the Children’s Book World, when Abi is looking for a book to help her learn to be a better coach. It certainly adds some fun to the film to notice places from our small world!
Well I hope I did not give too many spoilers away! If you get a chance, be sure to check out Backwards (even if it is just to see James Van Der Beek)!