SAN DIEGO — Released today on a variety of streaming services , Extra Innings is the story of a boy who was a very talented baseball player, whose Orthodox Jewish parents not only discouraged him from this pursuit, but also refused to attend any of his games.
This was sad because the young man, modeled on writer/ director Albert Dabah’s own life, had natural talent, both as an outfielder and as a batter.
In the movie, we meet Dabah’s alter-ego, David Saba [portrayed by Aidan Brennan], at age 12 when he is torn between studying for his bar mitzvah and participating in baseball games. He rushes from one activity to the other, and luckily for him, he is good at both even though he can give neither his full attention.
We see that his father Eli, (played by Albert Dabah himself) is a traditional Jew of Syrian background, who is so obsessed and often fatigued by his work life that it leaves little time for positive interaction with his family, neither with his children nor with his overwhelemed wife, Esther (Geraldine Singer).
Rather than trying to understand what the children’s needs and wants are, Eli falls back upon traditional Syrian Jewish expectations that they must work hard, go into business, and make money.
One daughter, Vivian (Mara Kassin) has moved out of the house, to California, almost as far away as she can get from the family’s East Coast abode. She erupts during one home visit with her family, screaming at her father that he’s never taken an interest in her or anyone else.
A son, Morris (Robert Ramos), who had been institutionalized with mental health issues, usually refuses to leave his room, and after his mother dismisses a maid Maria (Victoria Ric) who was having some success bringing him out of his shell, he commits suicide.
The only member of the family who seems to be adjusting well to her parent’s traditional demands is Rita (Natasha Coppola-Shalom), who enjoys the traditional Orthodox life style.
When David transforms from boy to young adult (resulting in Alex Walton taking over the role), he is invited to play baseball for “Vista College” in Los Angeles, presumably on a scholarship. His parents are dead set against him living on the West Coast, but his sister Vivian persuades him that he should follow his dreams.
Subplots involve David’s and Vivian’s romantic lives.
I shall not reveal the denouement so as not to spoil the movie for you, except to say that David’s relationship with his parents is profoundly affected. In watching this movie, I was reminded of a long line of movies and books in which family ties are disrupted because of the clash between a Jewish child’s ambitions and his/ her parents’ expectations. The first, of course, was The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson in the original and Neil Diamond in a remake, in which, the son wanted to be a popular singer, while his father wished him to pursue a life as a cantor. Another example was My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok, in which Lev’s Orthodox family is horrified by their son’s desire to be an artist. More recently this theme was repeated in the Israeli-produced television series Shtisel and in the acclaimed mini-series Unorthodox.
The message in all these stories is that parents may counsel and encourage, but must not thwart their children’s desire to pursue careers based upon their God-given talents.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com