Berg's film shines with authenticity

Rating: 7/10 (17 October 2004)

Just like "Ladder 49" this film is careful not to stray from it's roots and go overboard and instead remains focused on presenting itself in a completely realistic manner. Story is based on true events in 1988 where in Odessa, Texas the Permian Panthers are under pressure to win the state championship. In a small place like Odessa the areas events are centered around high school football and the ultimate glory is to win "State" and Coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) is looked at very closely and if he cannot deliver a championship team his job will more than likely be in jeopardy.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
The young quarterback for the Panthers is Mike Winchell (Lucas Black) who lives with his unstable mother and he knows if he can show everyone how good he is it can lead to a scholarship to a good college and out of Odessa. Also on the team is Boobie Miles (Derek Luke) who has more natural talent than anyone but he loves to talk a lot and showoff and during the first game of the season he suffers a bad knee injury that puts his career in doubt. But the player that is really under pressure is Don Billingsley (Garrett Hedlund) who is constantly being criticized by his father (Tim McGraw) to the point where he is actually slapped while on the field.
This is the third film that actor Peter Berg has directed and it's easily his most impressive and it looks as if he has a genuine career in directing. Berg has been getting better and better with every effort and not only does he stay true to the story without aiming for the extreme but this is a film that's visually interesting to look at. I've heard some call this the "Black Hawk Down" of football films and that's not a bad comparison because the look of this film is very reminiscent of something Ridley Scott could have made. The performances are also on the mark and Thornton gives us a coach that is one of the more intricate and human than we usually see in films. While Thornton really doesn't have one big showy scene in the whole film there is one moment that sticks with me and it's the scene where he knows he's being lied to by Boobie and his uncle when asked if he can play. They of course say yes but Thornton's eyes tell us that he knows whats going on but for the life of him he can't say so. Under Berg's direction this film doesn't try to be something other than a straight forward look at high school football and each of the characters are realistically portrayed to the point where we actually recognize some of them from our own lives. Some will say that this is "The" football film ever made and considering how carefully well made this is by Berg they might actually be right.