Evan Rachel Wood Pushes Devery Jacobs In Tense Clip From Gymnastics Drama Backspot

Summary Screen Rant presents a clip from Backspot featuring stars Devery Jacobs and Evan Rachel Woods.

Devery Jacobs brings authenticity to her performance in Backspot, drawing on her background as an award-winning gymnast.

Backspot, a long-burning passion project for director D.W. Waterson, flips into theaters on May 31.

Backspot is a new cheerleading drama from director D.W. Waterson, written by Joanne Sarazen with a story by Waterson. The movie follows an ambitious cheerleader who is selected for an all-star cheer squad, only to face adversity in the competitive environment fomented by a demanding head coach. Backspot was executive produced by Elliot Page, and premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.

Screen Rant is happy to debut a clip from Backspot featuring the film’s stars Devery Jacobs (Reservation Dogs, Marvel’s Echo) as Riley and Evan Rachel Wood (Westworld) as Coach McNamera. The clip showcases Jacobs’ gymnastic abilities and hints at the drama at the heart of the movie. Take a look at the clip, above, and get ready to watch Backspot when it hits theaters on May 31.

Why Backspot Is An Overdue Movie Starring Role For Devery Jacobs

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As seen in the clip above, Backspot puts Devery Jacobs’ dramatic abilities front and center in what could be a starring turn even bigger than the actor’s other projects. Jacobs’ introduction to many viewers was as a shining part of the cast of Reservation Dogs (a critically-acclaimed Hulu original series about a group of Indigenous teenagers growing up on a reservation in Oklahoma) but Backspot focuses the lens on the actor in an even more direct way. Thanks in part to the participation of people like Elliot Page and Evan Rachel Wood, even more viewers may discover Jacobs’ talents in this new film.

When Screen Rant interviewed Devery Jacobs about Backspot, the actor revealed she was also an award-winning gymnast. In that way, the role of Riley feels almost tailor-made to bring out a wide range of Jacobs’ talents. Her ability to perform gymnastics skills herself is also sure to make her performance feel more authentic overall, heightening the dramatic effect on the audience as well as showcasing her strengths.

As director D.W. Waterson also revealed in a Screen Rant interview, Backspot premiered at South By Southwest six years after the idea was conceived. Jacobs joined the film as a producer early on, making the gymnastics movie a long-burning passion project for the actor. Considering how long it took for audiences to see Jacobs’ strengths on display in the unique way that Backspot allows, the movie is overdue indeed.

Backspot hits theaters on May 31.