Bye Bye Barry

Micaela Powers's 2023 documentary is about Barry Sanders disappearing at the peak of his career. Close to breaking the all-time rushing record, Sanders boarded a flight to England in 1999 and never took the field again. The question at the centre is why. Sanders said nothing for years, and the film has him speak at length for the first time. The answer that emerges is not a single event: a team worn down by losing, a strained relationship with the club, and indifference toward the record itself. Eminem, Jeff Daniels and Bill Belichick are among those who speak. The documentary's limit is that Sanders remains at a distance; while the narration keeps trying to explain, its subject withdraws. That is a weakness of the film and also an accurate portrait of the man. Who it's for: those interested in American football and sports biography. Who it's not for: viewers new to the sport; the documentary assumes knowledge of the rules and the club's history.