Burnt Prairie - Chris
Genre: Drama
Director: James Ponsoldt
Writer: Chad Taylor
Cast: Jacob Elordi, John Gallagher Jr., Diana Silvers and Will Patton
Plot: It is the week leading up to Regionals, the next phase for the state tournament. Having won their sectional, they now enter a mini-tournament with 3 other sectionals winners, with the winner advancing to Semi-State.
For the first time in his life, Chris Ford (Jacob Elordi) is now the talk of the town. As they do every year, the citizens of Burnt Prairie invest their hopes of glory into the lives of seventeen and eighteen-year-olds. For Chris, he has been waiting for this moment his entire life.
At practice, Thomas (John Gallagher Jr.) tells the team they will be taking a break from any physical workout today. Instead, they’ll be watching Hoosiers. He tells them that they are one of the smallest schools left in the state tournament and that their opponents are only going to get bigger from here on out. After they watch the movie, most everyone seems bored and Thomas pulls Chris aside and asks him if that was helpful. Chris smiles and says that Thomas is no Gene Hackman.
Chris pays a visit to the local gun range. Like Cameron at the river, he finds this cathartic both to deal with his emotions from the last few weeks and to let off the nerves for this upcoming weekend. While there, he runs into Morris Whitney (Will Patton), Keith’s father. They are both avid hunters and talk a little bit about that. Chris isn’t sure how to talk to him about his son so he just asks how Keith is holding up while in jail. It’s clearly a touchy topic for him but Morris says that he’s been to jail multiple times himself and he’s sure that he’s raised his kid tough enough to survive. Morris asks Chris if he’s still dating the Sheriff’s daughter, which throws Chris off as he and Cameron have never been official. He doesn’t know how to respond before Morris says that he’s at the school everyday - he’s seen how they flirt with each other. This makes Chris outright uncomfortable and says he’s got to get going. Morris wishes him the best of luck this weekend.
At home, Chris hears a knock at the door and answers: it is Erin (Diana Silvers). She explains that she is now doing freelance work for the Burnt Prairie Post and was wondering if she could do a profile of him before the big game this weekend. Having previously dated, Chris is obviously hesitant to answer this but he does agree to it.
He drives her around town as she asks him questions about his basketball career and any future plans. Similar to the Von interview, things start to go off-track as he begins to ask her about college. She tries to get the interview back on-topic but he continues probing. He parks his truck and he starts to talk more honestly than he had before. He says that he is more nervous than he is confident. He always wanted the spotlight when Von was around but now that he’s been forced into the role of team leader, he is constantly plagued with the fear of letting his team down. After a prolonged silence, he asks Erin if she missed him. He’s missed her. After more silence, she shakes her head yes. He leans into kiss her and they briefly do but she pulls away and says she can’t do this. She has to stay professional. She tries to quickly exit the truck but the door is locked. This causes her to panic while Chris also panics as he tries to unlock it, so as not to make her feel like she’s being held captive. Once she exits, he sits by himself in silence.
At Regionals, Burnt Prairie are the favorites for their first game and keep a 10-point lead throughout most of the game, leading to a win. Their second opponent, Jeffersonville, is much tougher. Jeffersonville is an Indiana suburb of Louisville and their team is stacked this year. Before the game, Thomas is about to give a pep talk but Chris offers to do it for this game. He fires up his teammates, talking about their underdog status. He even uses a quote from Hoosiers, which makes Thomas smile. The team is pumped up and they all huddle together in anticipation of their biggest game yet. When the team does their run-out, Chris scans the crowd for his family and his dad points to a few people sitting in front of him. Chris quickly realizes that these are college coaches from smaller universities who have come to scout the game for potential recruits (likely Jeffersonville players and Chris).
The game is hard-fought and a real defensive battle. They go into halftime tied 24-24. When they start the third quarter, Chris goes on a shooting drought and they fall behind 38-26 heading into the fourth. Chris finally makes a three, breaking his cold streak. However, when he comes down from his shot, he twists his ankle and crumples to the ground. He balls his hand into a fist and slams it onto the hardcourt, yelling “Fuck!” - leaving the entire arena in silence. Sensing this, he tries to get up to show that he is OK but he is limping and unable to walk under his own power. His teammates help him off the court while Thomas puts in a substitute in his place. Surprisingly, the team responds very well in his absence and erase the 7-point deficit, despite not having anything close to a college-level talent. Chris, swallowing his pride, cheers on his team and even helps Thomas coach a little bit. The Burnt Prairie Blazers win 45-43 and are headed to Semi-State.
For the first time in his life, Chris Ford (Jacob Elordi) is now the talk of the town. As they do every year, the citizens of Burnt Prairie invest their hopes of glory into the lives of seventeen and eighteen-year-olds. For Chris, he has been waiting for this moment his entire life.
At practice, Thomas (John Gallagher Jr.) tells the team they will be taking a break from any physical workout today. Instead, they’ll be watching Hoosiers. He tells them that they are one of the smallest schools left in the state tournament and that their opponents are only going to get bigger from here on out. After they watch the movie, most everyone seems bored and Thomas pulls Chris aside and asks him if that was helpful. Chris smiles and says that Thomas is no Gene Hackman.
Chris pays a visit to the local gun range. Like Cameron at the river, he finds this cathartic both to deal with his emotions from the last few weeks and to let off the nerves for this upcoming weekend. While there, he runs into Morris Whitney (Will Patton), Keith’s father. They are both avid hunters and talk a little bit about that. Chris isn’t sure how to talk to him about his son so he just asks how Keith is holding up while in jail. It’s clearly a touchy topic for him but Morris says that he’s been to jail multiple times himself and he’s sure that he’s raised his kid tough enough to survive. Morris asks Chris if he’s still dating the Sheriff’s daughter, which throws Chris off as he and Cameron have never been official. He doesn’t know how to respond before Morris says that he’s at the school everyday - he’s seen how they flirt with each other. This makes Chris outright uncomfortable and says he’s got to get going. Morris wishes him the best of luck this weekend.
At home, Chris hears a knock at the door and answers: it is Erin (Diana Silvers). She explains that she is now doing freelance work for the Burnt Prairie Post and was wondering if she could do a profile of him before the big game this weekend. Having previously dated, Chris is obviously hesitant to answer this but he does agree to it.
He drives her around town as she asks him questions about his basketball career and any future plans. Similar to the Von interview, things start to go off-track as he begins to ask her about college. She tries to get the interview back on-topic but he continues probing. He parks his truck and he starts to talk more honestly than he had before. He says that he is more nervous than he is confident. He always wanted the spotlight when Von was around but now that he’s been forced into the role of team leader, he is constantly plagued with the fear of letting his team down. After a prolonged silence, he asks Erin if she missed him. He’s missed her. After more silence, she shakes her head yes. He leans into kiss her and they briefly do but she pulls away and says she can’t do this. She has to stay professional. She tries to quickly exit the truck but the door is locked. This causes her to panic while Chris also panics as he tries to unlock it, so as not to make her feel like she’s being held captive. Once she exits, he sits by himself in silence.
At Regionals, Burnt Prairie are the favorites for their first game and keep a 10-point lead throughout most of the game, leading to a win. Their second opponent, Jeffersonville, is much tougher. Jeffersonville is an Indiana suburb of Louisville and their team is stacked this year. Before the game, Thomas is about to give a pep talk but Chris offers to do it for this game. He fires up his teammates, talking about their underdog status. He even uses a quote from Hoosiers, which makes Thomas smile. The team is pumped up and they all huddle together in anticipation of their biggest game yet. When the team does their run-out, Chris scans the crowd for his family and his dad points to a few people sitting in front of him. Chris quickly realizes that these are college coaches from smaller universities who have come to scout the game for potential recruits (likely Jeffersonville players and Chris).
The game is hard-fought and a real defensive battle. They go into halftime tied 24-24. When they start the third quarter, Chris goes on a shooting drought and they fall behind 38-26 heading into the fourth. Chris finally makes a three, breaking his cold streak. However, when he comes down from his shot, he twists his ankle and crumples to the ground. He balls his hand into a fist and slams it onto the hardcourt, yelling “Fuck!” - leaving the entire arena in silence. Sensing this, he tries to get up to show that he is OK but he is limping and unable to walk under his own power. His teammates help him off the court while Thomas puts in a substitute in his place. Surprisingly, the team responds very well in his absence and erase the 7-point deficit, despite not having anything close to a college-level talent. Chris, swallowing his pride, cheers on his team and even helps Thomas coach a little bit. The Burnt Prairie Blazers win 45-43 and are headed to Semi-State.
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