'Remember the Titans' Conquers its Opponents

Rating: Null/10 (16 November 2004)

When I learned that I had to watch this film for my sports film class, I was not very happy about it. I just knew I wouldn't like it. After all, I'm a girl and the subject of the film was football, my least favorite sport. What could I find enjoyable about the film? Plenty, it turned out. This was by far one of the best sports movies I have watched. Yes, a great deal of it focused on football, but it was about so much more than sports.
The film centers on the 1971 football team (the Titans) at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, VA. The school system is working on integrating a previously all-white school, and the team is doing the same. For the first time, African American and white kids are supposed to play ball side by side, whether they like it or not. In the beginning, all of the players are angry at the situation and the team suffers because of it. As the story progresses, the two races eventually begin to accept each other and even begin to befriend kids of the opposite race. The movie focuses on the racism the players face from their peers and students from other schools and how the team deals with it. Of course there are a fair number of football scenes, but they add to the story rather than detract from it and shift the focus to sports. They help to show how all the individual players, regardless of their race, could come together as one to face a common opponent in whichever team they were playing. By the end of the film, the players realize that the color of their skin doesn't matter. They all face the same problems and have the same dreams.
If you were to simply hear the film's premise, I don't think it would convince you to go see it. Sure, it deals with the serious problem of racism and has a lot of cool football scenes, but so what? On their own, the plots and sub-plots don't seem that special, but when combined with the superb acting skills of Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Ryan Hurst, Wood Harris and Hayden Panettiere, the film becomes a winner. Washington is great as Head Coach Boone, and Patton is equally amazing as Coach Yoast, but the film would only be tolerable without the performances of the guys on the football team. I would strongly recommend seeing this film just to enjoy their performances. They manage to portray the strong racial opposition in the beginning of the movie, and as the film progresses, the way they depict the team's relationship is remarkable. I found that as the movie went on, I became attached to many of the players and their struggles. By the end, I was rooting for all of them to overcome their individual obstacles. They all became real people to me, not simply characters in some film.
Adding to the film's appeal was the great soundtrack. The songs played throughout the movie were a mix of Motown, gospel, and 70's rock. They gave the film a fun, relaxed feel and set the time of the film at the same time.
If it is at all possible, please go out and see this film. It doesn't matter how old you are. People of any age can enjoy it. The story is interesting, it doesn't get too serious and the acting is top notch. I would give this film a 9 out of 10.