Upamanyu Biswas
Directed by Sydney Freeland, ‘Rez Ball‘ is a sports drama revolving around the exploits of the Chuska Warriors, a Native American high school basketball team, whose efforts to win the State Championship are hampered when their star player, Nataanii Jackson, passes away. His death has a rippling effect on the team’s performances and their newfound challenges with internal cohesion. Subsequently, the responsibility falls upon the shoulders of Jimmy Holiday, Jackson’s friend, to carry his team to a championship. Jackson’s loss permeates throughout the story, driving each character to better themselves while fighting for silverware and honoring their friend’s memory. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Nataanii Jackson: A Fictional Basketball Player Struck By Tragedy
‘Rez Ball’ is a fictional story partially based on Michael Powell’s non-fiction book ‘Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation.’ Although the core of the story is drawn from the accounts chronicled by Powell, most of the movie was originally drafted by director Sydney Freeland and co-writer Sterlin Harjo. They deviated from the real-life events present in the source material, which includes one of the most seminal aspects of the narrative – the character of Nataanii Jackson and his eventual suicide. Jackson was conceived as a character by Freeland and Harjo and is a pivotal part of the movie because of the emotional leverage his death has on the Chuska Warriors.
In reality, there were no cases of suicide among the players of the Chinle Wildcats, who are the real-life counterparts of the Warriors. Coach Raul Mendoza, who was the loose inspiration for Heather Hobbs, was proud of the fact that no players under his counseling had ever committed suicide. Still, suicide is a major societal challenge and is a relevant topic discussed in Powell’s text, particularly among the Native Reservations. The writer stated, “Suicide is a door ajar on native reservations, where its incidence is well above the national average. It is the second-leading cause of death for Navajo teenagers.”
The movie depicts Nataanii Jackson as the bonafide star player next to his friend Jimmy Holiday. While Jackson’s star status offers him various opportunities in life, he comes from a humble background and personal demons of his own. Such conversations were often a common theme for Mendoza during his tenure. The coach recalled having a conversation with an unnamed star player of his own, who came up to him one day and said, “Coach, black shadows trail after me. They are telling me to commit suicide.” The tragic reality of the situation is reflected in Jackson’s plight and what he eventually goes on to do.
Outside of the stark reality of his eventual death, Jackson’s life as a star player seems mostly distant from the players on the Wildcats roster at the time. In fact, his friendship with Jimmy Holiday becomes the catalyst in the story when, after his death, Jimmy has to come to terms with the loss of his best friend and take up the mantle as the best player on the team. The character provides a glimpse into a real problem plaguing Indigenous settlements and the harrowing nature of losing one’s friend at a young age. Despite his prominence, he is a fictional character with no ties to reality.
Nataanii Jackson Goes Over the Edge After the Death of His Loved Ones
At the start of the film, Nataanii Jackson is recovering from the tragic loss of his mother and sister in a fatal car crash. Their untimely death leaves him shell-shocked and unable to process the arbitrary nature of their death. Through flashbacks, it is revealed that Jackson occasionally reminisces about the times when he and his friend, Jimmy, played basketball while his mother and father encouraged him from afar. It plays on his mind at all times and causes him to become withdrawn as a personality. Even Jimmy fails to realize that Jackson is hiding how broken he is after the loss of his mom and sister.
On the surface, Jackson continues to contribute to the Chuska Warriors’ efforts to win the championship but ultimately remains distant from everyone. Every morning, when he passes by the gravestones of his mother and sister during the commute to school, a dark shadow comes over Jackson’s face, signaling the morbid thoughts encircling his head. With each passing day, the pain of their death becomes greater and greater. When Jimmy and Jackson have a conversation with one another, the latter tells the protagonist that he wishes to get out. Jimmy misinterprets Jackson’s message as an aspiration to leave high school basketball and join the next level of competition. However, what Jackson actually meant was he wanted a way out of his pain.
Therefore, the character’s inevitable death not long after is a result of a slow, eventual descent into the abyss that no one around him picked up on. It comes as a shock to Jimmy the most as he was the closest person to Jackson and failed to recognize the signs from the get-go. However, in some ways, there was very little anyone could do about it, as Jackson had already made up his mind. Additionally, he remained tight-lipped about his hurt and what he was actually going through, causing a barrier to erupt between himself and everyone else. Tragic as it is, his death serves as the inciting incident in the film and forces the Chuska Warriors to unite as a team, which they failed to do previously.
