HIM, released on Sept. 18, is a film from Jordan Peele’s production studio. It has received mixed reviews, partly from people confused with it not being a Peele-directed movie, and others just not liking it. Personally, I really enjoyed the movie.
Summary
The leads Marlon Wayans and Tyriq Withers are able to create dynamic characters even with a limited plot and build up this cursed mentor and mentee relationship. Withers plays a draft prospect, Cameron Cade, who is being hailed to be the next greatest of all time (GOAT) of USFF, the film’s version of the NFL. Cade has a lot to prove after a freak accident leaves him with a traumatic brain injury, leading him to being invited to train with the current GOAT Isaiah White to prove to him and the San Antonio Saviors that he is league ready.
**** This article has minor spoilers to the film but gives a lot of plot points****
Characters
Cade: He has the stereotypical black athlete in a movie origin, he’s family oriented, insane ability, was introduced to the sport at a young age by a family member, chip on his shoulder due to possibly poverty or loss, and a traumatic event that haunts him. Within the first 20 minutes of the film, we see the pressure upon Cade to make it and we see the intense environment his father created around football as well as the noise surrounding his draft process from in and out of his circle following his injury.
White: An idol for Cade growing up and a mentor as he gets ready to join the USFF, White has a very hyped-up personality. He is treated as a god by Saviors fans and to be honest, it is warranted. White won eight championship rings this universe’s Superbowl. White tries to toughen Cade up so he is ready to take up the helm as the next GOAT. As a black quarterback — in the movie and in reality — you are judged harder and have to prove yourself repeatedly.
Elsie White: She is the wife of Isaiah White and also a representation of how lust and temptation can turn an athlete off their path. Elsie tests Cade constantly, asking if he is willing to go through all the fanfare to make it. She’s a facilitator between the owners and the athlete beyond Cade’s agent, who is a stakeholder. Elsie invites Cade to party with girls scantily clad in thong bikinis or lingerie, despite knowing he has a girlfriend. Elsie pushes Cade to indulge in the temptations. She is a metaphor for the illusive “gold diggers” and ” women stealing our good men” that are a threat to the black athlete. Elsie demonstrates the benefits of having a white partner in the eyes of a league. Lynae Vanee can explain this way better than me.
Cade’s Father: Only shown three times during the film but constantly referenced, he is the motivating force for Cade to succeed and make it into the league. The opening scene features Cade and his father watching a White game. It is a foundation to who Cam is as a person and as a player. His father says White is what a real man is and asks Cade repeatedly who he is. Cade responds, “I’m Him.”
PLOT
After our introduction to Cade and his draft circumstances, the film is divided by the days Cade is at White’s home for training.
Day One – Fun: Cade goes through some intense workouts with White, start to bond, but nothing crazy happens. When Cade begins to struggle, White reminds him: ” As a black quarterback, I had to be great just to be good.” There are conversation about what drives Cade, but White makes it clear extrinsic motivation will not be enough. Cade has to want to not only be great but be the best.
Day 2 – Poise: Cade is tested under pressure by training with other young players already in the USFF. The others players jab at Cade’s insecurities — his pain from his traumatic brain injury and the loss of his father — all while having to witness another person be punished for his mistakes. This is where Cade begins to question what is happening with White and his teachings, because at the end of the day, it is just football. White gives his first lesson to Cade: you are QB, so “all the blame goes on your shoulders,” whether in glory or in defeat.
Day 3 – Leadership: This day seemed less about Cade as an player and more about him as a person: can he do the tough thing? Will he buy in to what it means to be the best player in USFF? Can he command a room during a presser? Will he stay true to who he is? Around the White Estate, it is getting dark, from a fan breaking in to try to hurt Cade to visions Cade sees in the halls.
Day 4 – Resilience: Cade and White get to hang out with each other, not as opponents but as friends. They shoot targets in the field on White’s estate. Cade is very suspicious of White, especially when he pretends to not remember the fan that attacked Cade last night. White comes up with a wager when Cade is up to shoot: he will give anything Cade wants if he can shoot the target, but if Cade misses then White will take his youth. As an audience member, it is a relief to see White reveal his cards before he was just a bit ” intense,” but now it is clear what he is motivated by: he is jealous of Cade and his promise.
Day 5 – Vision: This day saw no-on field training, but instead media shoot and interviews. We learn more about White’s philosophy on greatness, as well as insight on Cade’s relationship with his father. White talks about a native tribe that would drag boys into the forest to make them into great hunters, using the blood of the best hunter to get them to see visions from the gods. White says the league is similar, but instead of boys being dragged “they are drafted and the gods are not in the sky but in skyboxes.” Cade reveals to a table of reporters that he started to hate football, but after his dad died the field was his safe space.
Day 6 – Sacrifice: Can’t spoil this one, but Cade and the audience get their answers to all their questions.
Commentary
The film used a lot of religious imagery to convey the importance of characters and define character motivation. From White fans being called ” believers” and referring to him to as a “deity” to White’s own philosophy of football, family, God — a reverse of the common phrase “God, family, football.”
White calls the owners gods, which is not far from how they act in the movie as well as in reality. The owners make the final choice and they have a seemingly endless supply of subjects to do their bidding. It is strange the way White almost got Cade to cheat on his non-ambiguous black girlfriend with Elsie’s friends and even his own wife.
Despite being the star of the team, it was Elsie bringing Cade to do talks with the owners, playing into the idea that a certain partner will allow access to greatness and establishing Elsie as a gatekeeper to success. As Cade taps into more of his aggression, becoming less troubled by the violence he witnesses during training and outside of it, he is numb to the pain of his brain injury and moves with less caution regularly. I think the movie could’ve gone more into the head trauma injuries football players face, but I understand why they didn’t, especially with Cade’s position as a quarterback not being as contact heavy.
I appreciated the conversation around not only the black athlete but specifically the black quarterback. The discourse around black quarterbacks has existed since the creation of football. Black athletes were seen as incapable of having the IQ to play the position or lead the team. Nowadays, you have the conversation of black quarterbacks not being “quarterbacky” enough to be taken seriously for major awards, even when they are doing better than their white counterparts.
Overall, I think the movie was good and made a strong attempt at sparking conversation around certain topics, but there is still much to be desired for anyone informed heavily on those topics. I was excited to see Wayans in a mature, non-comedic role and I can’t wait to see more from Withers.