Written by Nathaniel Torres
Running With Beto is a film that “started with baseball like so many other great things,” says director David Modigliani. Speaking to the audience at the SXSW 2019 premiere of his film, Modigliani shares with the crowd how he met now 2020 presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke while playing for the Texas Playboys baseball team. He says it was the opportunity to witness a positive campaign in the current political climate that convinced him to capture it on film. Modigliani continually asked himself “What is the story here?” all the while amassing over 700 hours of footage. When speaking with several audience members at the premiere, the descriptor I most commonly heard was “genuine.” Modigliani’s film iterates the positive message that the congressman spread throughout his campaign run, but rather than being an hour and half platform recap, it exposes the man behind the message.
Before the film, the audience chats. Small talk inevitably leads to reflections on the outcome of the 2018 election. Audience members recount their memories at election parties, being gathered around the TV with high hopes. Their tones take woeful dips as they come to the part about the seat being announced for Cruz, except that’s not where their stories end. Sounds of hope and determination resurface. Discussions conclude with adjusted outlooks both for a brighter future and O’Rourke’s chances at attaining office. For many, it is one and the same.
The lights go dim and several figures rush to the middle rows, faintly illuminated by the glow of the screen. The audience gives a stifled cheer. There’s no fooling this crowd; they know their hero and O’Rourke’s family is here to watch with them.
The film opens with a montage of sound bites and headlines that pick the scabs of slow-healing wounds for democratic Texans. Immediately apprehension and unease hushes the crowd. Anyone who followed the midterms recognizes the mix of media playing out on the screen. Yet the mood lightens up just as quickly with the first scene. Video shot from a phone shows the O’Rourke family load into the car. Beto’s son Henry O’Rourke asks, “What’s a sucker?” in response to hearing his dad use the term seconds before. The exchange between O’Rourke and his wife Amy is brief but says so much. It’s a moment that parents around the country know well. The split second of how best to describe an idiom and who will take the responsibility of glossing it over is a scene reminiscent of a family sitcom.
Clips of the O’Rourke family such as this one effectively reign in the audience to recognize the human aspect of the congressman. That’s the authentic tone that Modigliani captures in this film. He pulls back the curtain on the polished message and shows a man in full sprint to convince Texans he’s worth their vote. Though O’Rourke is the main character in this narrative he is not the only one. He is the face of change, but his team and his followers are the movement. The film follows three outspoken citizens doing their part to usher in the blue wave. One in particular, Shannon Gay, almost steals the show. She is a rough speaking woman with a sic ‘em attitude. The audience loves her audacity. If liberals are snowflakes, she is a blizzard.
Amanda Salas and Marcel McClinton are shown doing their part to address two of the state’s most pressing issues: gun laws and voter turnout. Both of them have firsthand experience with the consequences that can result from inaction. McClinton is a survivor of a school shooting. Salas is a resident of Hidalgo county, a county with one of the lowest voter turnouts in the state. Modigliani’s inclusion of their voices in his film allows for a fuller picture of the voter base O’Rourke has united.
Through its editing, Running With Beto also highlights the uniqueness of O’Rourke’s campaign. Modigliani interjects several clips from Facebook Live. Reaction emoticons and comments pop up on the big screen as if it were a giant cellphone. The scenes not only bring the audience into the spirit of the moment but also exemplify a modern campaign approach; perhaps a necessary one since O’Rourke relied mostly on small, individual donations from his supporters. There is a certain trust that’s built when broadcasting live for the upcoming generation, combining immediate gratification with on the spot reality coming from their candidate. Modigliani fills the screen with up close shots of facial expressions that range between relief, joy, and frustration. Shots of O’Rourke’s wife Amy and the children truly relay their sentiment throughout.
Viewers of Running With Beto should expect to relive their experiences with the midterm elections and more. Along with the inspiration, exasperation, and the dismay audiences will also see the sacrifices the O’Rourke family has made. O’Rourke’s children’s heartache when the last ring goes to voicemail, Beto’s early mornings in hotel lobbies and airplanes, and the miles of Texas roads travelled. Drama is not drummed up or caught the way that is common for reality media today. Instead, it unfolds steadily and naturally with the midterm timeline. The pace of the film quickens as election day draws nearer. Dialogue becomes more urgent and direct, especially from the Congressman. It is a glimpse of O’Rourke’s leadership and willfulness to deliver his message his own way. Though the audience knows how the story ends, the energy in the theater somehow still mounts to palpable levels.
Running With Beto is not a film about why Beto should have won the election or why his point of view is right. It is the story of how the Democratic population of Texas found their drive. Combining O’Rourke’s persistence with that of active citizens’, the film reflects the people’s thirst for an antidote to the hardlined, negative platforms that run on being against new ideas. Modigliani showed a base rallying around the belief that it doesn’t take big money to run a successful campaign in Texas. A base that believes that there is power in refusing to roll in the mud. A base that believes that they have a chance to make themselves heard. ‘Running With Beto’ leaves its audience feeling proud of a man willing to be the underdog and go against the grain in the most bonafide way. Many believe Beto’s race was exemplary, despite his loss, simply because it sets a precedent for bigger opportunities. Beto was asked about his 2020 plans after the screening but pivoted from the subject. He held off revealing his decision for nearly another week. On March 14, 2019, O’Rourke relieved his anxious supporters by finally announcing his 2020 presidential run saying, “at this moment of maximum peril and maximum potential let’s show ourselves, and those who will succeed us in this great country, just who we are and what we can do”.
Running with Beto is to be released on HBO May 28 according to IMDB.
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