Noah Bushel’s The Phenom isn’t your typical sports film at a first glance. Right from the film’s opening, the classical music score, and some great montages, The Phenom redefines the baseball movie genre. Rather than focusing on the sport, the film explores the player’s psyche and how he overcomes his issues to be a better athlete.

The film focuses on rookie pitcher Hopper Gibson (Johnny Simmons), a young man who has it all: being a third-ranked pitcher in the country, support from his school, a loving mother (Alison Elliott), and a beautiful girlfriend Dorothy (Sophie Kennedy Clark). However, Gibson becomes strangely distant from everyone, which affects his game. For no reason at all, he becomes more uncertain about where his life is heading. Once his father Hopper Sr. (Ethan Hawke) re-enters his life, Gibson suddenly sees everything clearly. Hopper Sr. shows some tough love to Gibson, often being a force of nature who pushes his son to the limit to make him a better player.

About the NY Film Critics Film Series: A regular series of ongoing preview screenings is established in approximately 50 selected major markets. Audiences experience all of the excitement of live Q&A sessions held in New York City, hosted by Peter Travers. The big screen events deliver 9-13 curated pre-release films per year to discerning audiences on a monthly basis. Each movie in the Screening Series is introduced live by Peter Travers. Audiences then see award contenders prior to their release followed by live, HD Q&A between Travers, audiences and talent from the films. Each piece brings the energy and VIP nature of prestigious, NYC screenings for nationwide audiences to interact with stars and directors via two way simulcast.

Series: New York Film Critics Series
Digital Presentation
Running Time: 90 minutes