“Put her in her place,” a teenage boy is told by a teammate just before facing off against a girl on a wrestling mat. It’s not long before she has her opponent pinned and his sexist cheerleader silenced. A trailer has dropped for “First Match.” Written and directed by Olivia Newman, the Netflix drama sees Monique (Elvire Emanuelle) joining an all-boys wrestling team at her high school.
Monique has spent years unhappy in foster homes, but she’s expecting her life to change when her father (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, “The Get Down”) gets out of jail and takes her into his custody. That’s not how things play out. He’s no longer her guardian, and he doesn’t seem especially interested in playing an active role in her life. Monique decides that joining the wrestling team will get his attention, and he quickly takes the bait. “I never heard of no girls wrestling on a boy’s team,” he says. So he decides to check out a practice. It’s not long before he’s cheering her on — but he’s also quick to offer brutal critiques.
Set to make its world premiere at SXSW today, March 12, “First Match” will begin streaming on Netflix March 30.
