Spellbound might follow eight juniors as they try to become champions, but director Jeffrey Blitz is really documenting the American Dream in action. The children come from diverse backgrounds, male and female, rich and poor, citizens and immigrants. With that in mind, his subjects are thrown into the pit of competition as they fight to become America’s top speller. Spellbound offers a fascinating look at one of the nation’s quirkier events (not to be overtaken by the Coney Island hot dog eating contest) that is funny, touching, strange and honest.
The films opens with young Harry making faces for the camera. Actually, rubber face and tongue biting is his signature quirk as he thinks hard and tries to come up with a word’s proper spelling. The word in question? Banns. The enunciation makes it a bit of a trick word as one side of Harry is thinking ‘bands’ while the other is questioning why such an easy word would be in such a tough competition.
Flashback to the weeks leading up to the National Spelling Bee. Blitz proceeds to give the background of his subjects. Some, like Harry, come from fairly typical middle-class homes but are surrounded by some oddball friends and family. Others standout with more interesting life backdrops. For instance, Ashley has been raised by a single mom in the projects of Washington D.C. Angela is the daughter of Mexican immigrants who speak little English. Neil’s grandfather has paid thousands of people in India to pray for his grandson with the promise of an enormous feast if he wins. These are the types of stories that create the tapestry of America. They’re the things that often go ignored as everyday occurrences to those who experience them but are extraordinary to those who live outside of the experience. This is where the Blitz excels, carving out compelling storylines for each of the children.
All eight kids are caught on camera going through the awkward phase in life where their bodies are disproportionate and they’re not exactly attractive. It’s a refreshing change of pace from other movies where there seems to be a rule that all child actors must be cute. It’s something that I haven’t noticed in the past and taken it for granted. Blitz provides a gentle reminder that not all kids are Hollywood ‘cute.’ In their average looks, none of them standout for reasons other than their character and it helps to build sympathy towards them.
If my attention waned at any point in the film, it was when the competition finally began. While they’re success or failure was what the suspense was built around, I simply preferred each of the child’s home life more than the actual Bee. You know that some of the kids are going to fall and they do. Blitz insists on showcasing each of his subjects as they spell every word. This leads to the drama dragging on a little long because most of the words aren’t just rambled off. There’s a pause for thought, questioning of the word in question’s origins and definitions, more thought, a pause for composure and finally a slow and drawn out spelling. It often becomes tedious and I soon became bored with playing along trying to spell the words myself (this might be because I failed on almost every instance).
But it’s not like the third act is bad, I just liked the first two better. This is where Blitz explores ‘the Dream’ from so many different angles. He avoids stereotypes and doesn’t let the camera get carried away. In most every instance he is sympathetic towards his subjects, although he does seem to get a little impatient with Harry at times. Not that the kid didn’t deserve it.
Some of the best moments in Spellbound have little relevance towards the competition but they are nonetheless vital. These are the bits of throwaway lines that make the people and communities unique and Spellbound so special.
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Trailer
