2:26 PM
ArtsNFashion
Director: Nico Caro
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Running time: 129 Minutes
Cast: Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Juanes,
Morgan Saylor, Carlos Pratts, Martha Higareda, Valente Rodriguez, Johnny Ortiz
Review by James Colt Harrison
Popping out of the Disney patriotic bin is the
exciting and inspirational film from veteran star Kevin Costner. Recently
scoring with his film Black and White
that shows another side of Americana, this time Costner tackles race relations
with Hispanic-Americans.
The movie was inspired by a 1987 real-life
event that took place in the tiny farming town of McFarland, California. The
area in the Central Valley is economically challenged, and the people mainly
are farm laborers with little chance at succeeding in life. Something to uplift
their spirits is indicated to bring happiness and success to the people who
live there.
Coach Jim White (played realistically by Kevin
Costner) arrives in their small town to build up the track team at the local
high school. The school is predominantly a Latino high school, and Costner also
has to learn to fit in with the boys on the team. The school has never had much
success with athletics and it is up to White to mold the boys into shape in
order to compete with other high schools in the championship runs.
White immediately notices the boys have incredible
running ability but have no discipline nor expert training. It’s a rag-tag
bunch of talented boys who need direction. It’s also an opportunity for White
and the boys to learn about each other, to see what their differences are, and
what they also might have in common. They struggle to find a common bond and
realize that family relationships are powerful and the connecting tissue
between the boys, their families and White’s family. Maria Bello play’s White’s
wife but Is given little to do, and is the fate of most actresses to day.
There is a smattering of suspense when the boys
are training for the big game, but the outcome is a foregone conclusion.
Audience enjoyment is gotten from the hard work the boys put in to make it to
the championship game. They struggle, they run up mountains, they sweat, they
threaten to quit, they collapse. What else did you expect? It’s Costner’s job
as Coach White to talk them into realizing how important it is for them to
practice, practice, practice and then practice some more for the glory of their
school and their community. Costner is good at this sort of thing, as he acts
much like a father or a big brother to encourage the boys.
The boys are talented and go on to win many
prizes in the history of the school. The story is a well-known commodity
because of the phenomenal 24-year streak of wins at the State Championships.
Because of this true story, much of the suspense and surprise of the film is
evaporated as we already know the end results. But it remains an inspiring look
at what can be accomplished by a small-town group of determined and talented
running young men.
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