From “Miracle” to “Chariots of Fire” to “Eddie the Eagle” and more, there are dozens of movies recounting the most triumphant moments in Olympic history lionizing the determination of the athletes and the significance of the moment. Yet none of them dropped you into the setting of the Olympics figuratively much less literally. This is what precisely makes writer, director and cinematographer Jeremy Teicher’s “Olympic Dreams” unique and something of a game changer for the genre. Shot entirely by a one-person crew during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, ‘Dreams’ attempts to take the audience inside the mind of these world-class athletes illustrating their immense pressure, insecurities and social struggles through the lens of a young Olympic hopeful and cross-country skier. And while this examination of potential failure, elite-level performance and the anxiety and burdens of maintaining and achieving it is what Teicher’s film is aiming for, the story as a whole, doesn’t quite click, and thus perhaps the more impressive and inspiring feat of “Olympic Dreams” is merely in the making of it.
READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2019
Following her early and disappointing finish at the 2018 Winter Olympics, a cross country skier named Penelope (real-life athlete Alexi Pappas) finds her way into the company of a volunteer dentist named Ezra (Nick Kroll). The two begin to form an intimate bond as they share a brief but impactful experience all on the grounds of the Olympic Athlete Village.
READ MORE: SXSW Film Festival Preview: 16 Movies To See
Teicher really takes a documentarian vérité approach to the narrative shooting predominantly handheld and intercutting with actual archival footage from the IOC (International Olympic Committee). Because shooting took place during the PyeongChang Olympics, Teicher was able to capture everything from the ski slopes, to the halfpipe, to all the various nooks and crannies of the Athletes Village allowing the actors to authentically insert themselves and interact within the real-world energy of this anxious and amped-up environment. It also helps that several real Olympic athletes appear as well. While the access to the event is undoubtedly extraordinary and helps build a realism that you can’t fake, one still can’t help but feel ‘Dreams’ simply gets caught up in the rush of the Olympics energy and turns into a bit of a lovefest to the event itself.
As Penelope and Ezra explore their surroundings, there are several moments when the two stop to admire the athletes and their determination often explaining the sport as if the film were a “Winter Olympics Explained” video. It’s glaringly apparent “Olympic Dreams” is better suited for short form (and sure enough that original plan was revealed by Teicher during a post-screening Q&A) and so filmmaker mostly pads out the film with unnecessary filler to justify its full-length existence. On top of the glorified infomercial segments, ‘Dreams’ pivots from montage to montage not only making for a choppy pace but only manufacturing the illusion of a developing relationship— in this case, an easy cinematic mechanism in lieu of actual character development.
Performance does deliver some nuance to the characterization individually, however, the character of Penelope feels inconsistent throughout. One moment we’ll see her as this awkward yet determined athlete who’s sacrificed the social life of her youth to perfect her craft, and the next a carefree wild child. Her awkwardness starts off endearing, but it gets too much as the movie progresses and Pappas appears to be trying too hard to make her character convincing, which arguably applies to the entire relationship. Their cute and quirky connection is charming initially, Kroll and Pappas’ improvisational banter leads to some genuine interactions, but that truthfulness becomes less believable as the awkwardness of the character becomes more extreme and even uncomfortable. A substantial age gap between the two characters with Penelope being 22 and Ezra a divorced 37-year-old doesn’t help either. Penelope’s youthful awkwardness and Ezra’s aged cynicism is played off as cute, but it loses its adorable nature as the relationship becomes more intimate. The film seemingly admits this as the two characters never become intimate physically, which ironically just adds to the awkwardness of the romance.
While palpable drama is lacking between the two actors, Nick Kroll at least makes a successful dramatic turn here and truly shows his capability outside the realm of broad comedy. His natural charms enhance the humorous beats and the film relies a lot on his strong improvisation with Pappas.
Ultimately, “Olympic Dreams” can be appreciated by its craft more than the finished product. There’s a real missed opportunity here to really delve into the psychological and sociological burden of striving for perfection and possessing Olympic exceptionalism, and it’s instead swapped for a disappointing, sometimes cringe-worthy romance and an over bloated narrative causing this latest Olympic narrative to never really cross the finish line. [C]
Click here for more of our coverage from SXSW 2019.
