Fenom
*Seen at the 2023 Atlanta Film Festival.
“Fenom” is one of the most endearingly entertaining documentaries I’ve seen in recent years. That’s weird to say about a film where it’s subject lost her father before she was born as a result of a brutal murder, but that is the power of Flau’Jae Johnson, a high schooler with a brilliant future ahead of her in both basketball and as a rapper. She has charisma to spare, as does her family, in general. It’s a credit to director Kayla Johnson where she sees the value of this film’s positive potential rather than telling a story of a broken life because of tragic circumstances. That is not the story Flau’Jae wants to lean on in her life, because truthfully, her life is pretty great, so she deserves to have it told her way.
When a young person like Johnson has a natural ability, and they know it, there is a danger of them being insufferable, but that is the furthest thought I had about her watching “Fenom.” It’s a credit to her family that she’s remained remarkably grounded, and a credit to her that she is a very generous and supportive individual to others. When we watch her in interview segments in this film, we don’t feel like she’s putting on an act for the camera to show her in the best light- it’s just her. The film focuses more on her basketball than her rapping, which makes sense given that one of the executive producers is the great WNBA player Sue Bird, and if I had one issue with the 66-minute film, it’s that I would have liked to see more of that side of Flau’Jae, where she is following in the footsteps of her biological father, Jason “Camouflage” Johnson, because- like on the court- she has a natural gift for that that I would have loved to see how she honed it at such a young age. The film was made in a span of five months, however, starting around when she was named to the McDonald’s All-American team, and as she committed to going to LSU, and broke her high school’s all-time scoring record. Maybe we’ll get a more in depth portrait of that part of her down the road.
I honestly don’t have much more to say about “Fenom.” The film isn’t all positive vibes- Flau’Jae breaks her finger during practices for the All-American game, so (on her biggest stage yet) she underperforms on the court, and the sadness of her biological father not being around is felt, even as her stepfather is a profoundly positive influence for her- but it’s the positivity we’re left with after the film, and given how a lot of documentaries lean into the fight against adversity, it’s refreshing to see one that leans towards showing us a largely positive life, and how that can be inspiring.
