Eephus (2025)

I had no idea what the word "eephus" means. I have no interest what so ever in baseball and find it hard to relate to heterosexual male bonding. But along comes a film like this, with its quiet tenderness, its slice of life perspective, and some honest raw performances, and I was charmed by Eephus and, dare I say, moved. Set over the course of the last amateur baseball game before the local field is demolished for new development, Eephus is a story about connections, passions, aging, and loss, filmed in the most unassuming manner that you don't expect it to hit the way it does. 

Eephus is never heavy handed or on the nose. We are presented with a cast that is made up of mostly unrecognizable faces, very real world/average faces, and we watch them play a game of baseball. But the film avoids any sport movie cliches. There isn't some final inning hailmary, no underdogs overcoming the odds, no tragic go-down-fighting loss, or any of the tropes we expect in these films. Instead the energy is in the conversations as the game is played, the connections between the friends and casual acquaintances sharing this moment of interaction. The "big" finale is not in some sporting achievement but in the playing to the end itself. 

Eephus defies expectation and ends up being something completely different than you'd expect. It doesn't do so through bold gestures but with quiet passion. There is a script here is that is masterful in feeling 100% like natural conversation while communicating so much to its audience about the men we are watching and their world. It also speaks to something beautiful about community sport and what makes community in the first place. It also, quite deftly and surprisingly, offers fascinating explorations of heterosexual male relationships and connections. There is a contemplative aspect to this film which raises it above what one might anticipate and offer something truly fresh and downright entertaining without being showy.

And that's what "eephus" means. It is a kind of pitch that is slow yet deceptive with a long high arch. The film copies that with its narrative and cinematic trajectory and hence the name of the film. 

Eephus

Starring: Keith William Richards, Frederick Wiseman, Bill Lee

Director: Carson Lund

Writers: Michael Basta, Nate Fisher, Carson Lund