You
might think pinball machines are veritable museum pieces, but they are still
cranking out new machines, often licensing hit films and TV series, like Avatar, 24, and Game of Thrones (you know that one must have a special place in
GRRM’s hacienda). It would be fascinating to learn the economics of this
apparently still viable industry, but sorry, you are in for some feel-good
moral uplift instead. Jeff Petry & Nathan Drillot follow Robert E. Gagno, a
high-functioning, highly ranked autistic competitive pinball player in Wizard Mode (trailer here), the opening film
of the 2016 Portland Film Festival.
If
the only thing you can think of right now is The Who’s Tommy, you are not alone. Petry & Drillot will duly play a
cover of “Pinball Wizard” over the closing credits, but they scrupulously avoid
all references until then. As fr they are concerned, this is strictly Gagno’s
show. Fortunately, for the filmmakers and everyone watching their finished
product, Gagno is rather sociable and sympathetic. Granted, he is somewhat
socially awkward, but keep in mind, he is Canadian. You know, they have long
winters up there and few people. One could argue he is doing rather well, all
things considered.
For
that, Gagno and his supportive parents credit pinball. It was one of the few
things Gagno could lock-in on during his childhood years and he now considers
it the key to his socialization. However, viewers might have a more ambiguous
judgment on pinball as they watch him struggle under the pressure of
championship match play.
Gagno
is a nice young man working to find his place in the world, but we get the essence
of his story early on. Frankly, most viewers will be more seduced by the
flashing lights and old school gaming terms, like “multi-ball,” “wizard mode,”
and the dreaded “tilt.” The history and scrappy survival of pinball machine
development could well be the stuff of a terrific feature-length documentary—and
many will wish this had been that.
However,
if first and foremost you are looking for niceness than Petry & Drillot
have you covered multiple times over. We really could have done without the
long conversations regarding hugging. Still, once you get past those, most
viewers will agree, the Gagnos truly look like super-parents and REG (as they
call him) deserves credit for becoming a gainfully employed, productive member
of society. That is more than three-quarters of the residents of our nation’s
capital could say for themselves. Earning a mild recommendation (perhaps partly
to avoid looking mean), Wizard Mode screens
this coming Tuesday (8/30) and Friday (9/2) during this year’s Portland Film
Festival.
