McFarland, USA (FILM REVIEW)
McFarland,
USA
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Disgraced Coach Redeems Self in Overcoming-the-Odds Sports Saga
In the fall
of 1987, Jim White (Kevin Costner) was fired as head football coach of a high
school team in Boise, Idaho when he lost his temper and hit one of
his players in the face and drew blood. With a wife (Maria Bello) and two young
daughters (Morgan Saylor and Elsie Fisher) to support, the hot-headed perfectionist
found himself in urgent need of another job.
So, he accepted a demotion
to assistant football coach at the public high school in the
predominantly-Latino, working-class town of McFarland,
California. However, once it became clear on the gridiron
that being second-in-command wasn’t working out, the versatile veteran came up
with the idea of fielding a cross-country track team instead.
Though initially skeptical,
Principal Camillo (Valente Rodriguez) grudgingly agreed, and White immediately
started scouting around campus for fleet-footed prospects. As it turned out,
many of McFarland High’s Chicano students were already in shape, being
accustomed to darting the long distance from the field to the classroom, after picking
fruit and vegetables alongside their parents from the crack of dawn.
Upon settling on seven
promising protégés, the dilemma yet confronting Coach White was whether or not
their cash-strapped clans could afford the luxury of letting them run track in
lieu of laboring as farm workers in the wee hours of the morning? If so, the
boys might also be afforded an opportunity to expand their horizons, since a
standout’s landing an athletic college scholarship was definitely a distinct
possibility.
Directed by New Zealand’s Niki Caro (Whale Rider), McFarland, USA
is much more than your typical, overcoming-the-odds sports saga, in spite of
the fact that it might sound fairly formulaic at first blush. Yes, it’s a
classic case of a disgraced coach making the most of a shot at redemption with
the help of a motley crew of underestimated underdogs. Nevertheless, this true
tale of overcoming-the-odds proves oh so touching because it simultaneously sheds
light on the plight on of an invisible sector of society, namely, the masses of
mostly Mexican immigrants who harvest our produce in obscurity for a mere pittance.
Kevin Costner has
never been more endearing than in this outing as a devoted mentor and family
man. And he’s surrounded in that endeavor by a talented supporting cast
convincing enough to make it easy to forget you’re watching actors, at least
until the closing credits roll. That’s when we’re treated to photos of the
real-life people just portrayed, plus positive updates about their present lives
which serve to validate all the sacrifices made.
Heartwarming!
Excellent
(4 stars)
Rated PG for
violence, mild epithets and mature themes
In English and Spanish with subtitles
Running time: 129 minutes
Distributor: Walt
Disney Pictures
No comments:
Post a Comment