by: Pia Haynes

Sunday March 25th, The Atlanta Film Festival rolled out the red carpet, for the highly anticipated film, The Last Fall. Director, Matthew Cherry, proudly presented his self inspired film for the second time, as it originally debuted at SXSW 2012 . ATLFF followed suit, screening the film at the Landmark Midtown Arts Cinema. Matthew Cherry was in attendance along with star of the film Lance Gross. Amongst others, was well known co-star Nicole Beharie, who plays the old girlfriend (Faith Davis) to Lance’s character (Kyle Bishop).

Matthew Cherry, directed this film as a P.S.A. of sorts. The retired NFL player turned director sheds light on the feat and defeat of a ball players career path. “Contrary to popular opinion, all NFL players are not millionaires, in fact more than half of the players are living hand to mouth.” -Matthew Cherry

The Last Fall, specifically depicts the journey he traveled, yet still painfully true for a large percentage of athletes in the league today. Matthew Cherry entered the National Football League in 2004 as the highest paid, undrafted free agent. Although, that sounds promising, a ten-thousand dollar signing bonus can spend fast for anyone. Matthew found himself bouncing around the league, never really finding financially stability as a player. By the age of 25, Matthew’s career as a professional athlete had dissipated.

The movie begins in the locker room, with a disheartening scene of Kyle Bishop boxing up his belongings, all while a coach impatiently oversees his departure. Kyle is broke and distraught, he must return home to his mother’s house to regroup. Feeling like a complete failure, Kyle reaches out to some hometown friends as if he’s only in town on a bi-week. He finds himself without a car, using local transportation to seek mentally degrading sources of employment. While job hunting, he pays a visit to his 2nd grade teacher, where he runs into his High School sweetheart, Faith Davis. Just as Lance is getting acclimated to life after the game, he receives a promising phone call from his agent.

The Last Fall is enlightening to truths of the game, as it zooms in on the roller coaster most professional athletes ride, just to earn a not so decent living. Matthew Cherry and his talented cast, successfully appeal to the people ignorant to the realities of the football industry. Cherry says, the film will hit the big screen, as they are currently in the abreast of negotiating a financially conducive deal.

Photo Credit: Doobious.org and Matt Bailey

Photo Credit: Doobious.org and Matt Bailey

For more from Pia Haynes, follow her on Twitter @WritersBlokk and visit her website, thedoubleshotpr.wordpress.com