E Blacks

The scouts

Esports at the Commonwealth Games sounds like the most predictable underdog doc imaginable—and yet Pitman's refusal to lean into the triumph narrative, letting Sam's quieter doubts linger, actually subverts the whole sports-redemption machinery.

A formally disciplined portrait that knows its place in the sports documentary tradition while resisting melodrama; the contemplative pacing and tender framing elevate what could've been a simple feature into something with real compositional restraint.

The film lives or dies on how Pitman shoots Sam's hands during gameplay—those moments of pure technical focus, almost meditative, become the emotional core that transforms a story about competition into something about presence itself.