A Victory!

Rating: 9/10 (24 November 2005)

There has not been one sports movie that I can remember which hasn't been as moving and exciting at the same time as this movie was.
Based on the novel by H.G. Bissinger and directed by his cousin, Peter Berg, "Friday Night Lights" takes place in 1988 Odessa, Texas, where a high school football team called the Permian Panthers are pressured by the townspeople (and their own beliefs) to win the 1988 Texas State Championship.
The movie gives you the sense that sports (in this case, football), to some people, is a religion and that nothing else matters to them. It almost seems like an obsession to these people!
In any case, the performances were great, it had a fast pace, and it was very careful not to get corny and manipulative. Billy Bob Thornton is great as Coach Gary Gaines, Lucas Black (Thornton's "Sling Blade" co-star) is terrific as quarterback Mike Winchell, and country singer Tim McGraw is Charlie Billingsley, whose son is on the team. McGraw gives an impressive, terrific performance.
This film and the novel from which it is based are based on the true story.