Debut: The Cost Of Flying Alone In ‘Eagle’

With its unexpected and bloody twist ending, Jose Acevedo’s Eagle packs a punch in its less than nine-minute runtime. The short follows high school senior Edgar (Daniel Taveras) through a seemingly normal day in his life, which, of course, turns out to be anything but. Since the narrative plays out non-chronologically, pinpointing a specific starting point for discussing the short is difficult. But that’s the magic of Eagle: the various perspectives and interpretations one may walk away from the film with.

Edgar finds himself at a crossroads: his life is composed of distinct parts that ultimately contradict one another. He is a prodigy, to say the very least, and his guidance counselor, Daniel (Roy Wood Jr.), reveals to him that he scored a perfect 1600 on his SAT. Instead of the typical shock or excitement one might expect in this scenario, Edgar’s reaction is brimming with what appears to be anger and uncertainty.

Why? In Edgar’s community, he is a standout, to the point that he is othered from his peers. He is told time and time again that he, and only he, is good enough, as if he were the chosen one, or in the short’s case, an eagle. Edgar’s guidance counselor tells him the age-old eagle story, which ultimately serves as the core component of the narrative. To make a much longer metaphor short: Edgar is deemed a strong, high-flying eagle, while all those around him are stuck as mundane and insignificant chickens.

Edgar resents this. Being an eagle means leaving behind everything he knows outside of school: his family, friends, and peers. None of whom are considered enough in this story, except for him, the sole eagle. Director Acevedo’s experience with the eagle story actually inspired him to make Eagle in the first place. If the short’s name didn’t give it away already, “What inspired the film was my anger at the messaging I got as a kid that boiled down to, ‘You’re smart in a very particular way, but your friends and family are not, so you need to get as far away from us as you can.’”

These opposing facets of Edgar’s identity reach a point where they can no longer be separated. In response, he retaliates, and hard. He goes to rob a convenience store with a peer named Hector (Yunior Reyes). After the store’s cashier sarcastically remarks that the two boys’ moms would be proud, Edgar brutally attacks him. This is where the film takes its boldest turn; Edgar suddenly turns his weapon on Hector and strikes him unconscious. 

While initially shocking, this was a smart choice from Acevedo. Edgar sees aspects of himself in both distinct parts of his life. His passion for school is not negated by loyalty to his community, just as his loyalty is not negated by educational talent. He longs for a world where these parts can coexist, but unfortunately, he has been conditioned to believe otherwise throughout his life.

With all of this said, the narrative could’ve benefited from further clarity in Edgar as a character outside of school. While the runtime makes this hard, it is difficult to fully understand and empathize with Edgar’s choices to attack when so little time is spent with him. While Edgar is an individual character, he is also an example of many other youth of color who have endured a similar journey, just as director Acevedo experienced in his own life. In this narrative, however, Edgar does not quite reach the point of full nuance.

Another aspect that unfortunately distracted from Edgar’s development was the short’s twist ending. In the final moments of the film, it is revealed that the beginning between him and his friend Luis (Antonio Ortiz) is actually the ending chronologically, taking place immediately after the attack. Because of its shock value, the twist mostly works, but it leaves much to be desired when a piece of Edgar feels missing.

However, this is a strong debut from director Acevedo. The dialogue is pertinent and up-to-date, as is often not the case with younger characters. The ending, although imperfect, also has the unique capability of changing the film entirely on a rewatch. Most importantly, though, Acevedo’s intentions behind making the short are deeply important and resonant throughout, especially when centering the short on a story he himself was on the receiving end of prior.