AFI Fest Review: ‘Eephus’ is a Decently Entertaining Feature-Length Baseball Game

How serious and important something is to a particular person can only be judged by that person. The general public may not pay much attention to an amateur baseball game, but that doesn’t mean that the players aren’t entirely invested in it. Eephus finds two teams gathered at Soldiers Field in a small New England town to play one last game before it’s demolished, with few fans in the stands but as much commitment as they’ve seemingly ever mustered to play out this game and achieve whatever minimal glory it might bring to the victors.

The entirety of this film takes place in one location as players begin arriving and setting up for the game. Franny (Cliff Blake) sits down in his chair and pulls out his binoculars to take copious notes about each play and inning, far from the action but exactly as close as he needs to be to do his job. It takes some time for all the players to show up and get settled, but once they do, hitters step up to the plate and pitchers throw out balls that most often lead to strikes and walks. Occasionally, there’s a major play resulting in a run, but there’s not all that much action.

This film’s title references the famed eephus pitch which is thrown to look like a normal pitch only to then slow down and catch the hitter off-guard with its startingly low speed. It’s referenced on several occasions, with one player bragging about his ability to throw it and another commenting that he hasn’t seen it in action. It’s presented as a mythological, symbolic signal of excitement that these games far too often lack, something that might enliven the mundane and could have prevented the impending development that’s set to get rid of the field for good, with the potential to attract true fans and not just the family members of several players.

Eephus is the feature directorial debut of Carson Lund, who also works as a cinematographer, including on another AFI Fest selection this year, Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point. Introducing the film before its screening, Lund joked that the premise was a “reverse Field of Dreams” where “if we wreck it, they will leave.” For a film about a group of people not particularly enthusiastic about a hobby that takes up a great portion of their time, they still remain quite committed to what they do, as does the film, sticking with them even as it starts to get dark and they realize that the lights don’t work and they’ll soon be playing without the ability to see.

That moment signifies what this film is most about – being with these players for their last hurrah. There is no additional lighting that serves to aid audiences to see what’s happening when it gets dark, so they’re fully along for the ride. The umpire has to leave because it’s getting late, but those who want to stay do so. The conversation is mundane and often quite juvenile, like when players taunt one hitter they know is on a diet by shouting out pizza toppings when he’s at bat, and no one seems to truly get along, even if this is how they’ve spent all their time for years.

Baseball fans should enjoy this film since it really is a baseball game playing out over the course of the entire movie. A few of the players are talented but the rest are just average, and that’s only so interesting to watch, even if the point is that these people care so much and being good doesn’t matter. Sticking it out to the end doesn’t reveal anything transformative or earth-shattering, but there’s something that feels intimate and true about spending this kind of time with these ordinary people indulging in their most treasured pastime.

Movie Rating: 6/10

Awards Buzz: Though it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, this hardly seems like an awards contender. It might take home a few festival honors in smaller locations where its hometown community nature can be best appreciated.