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Review #339 of 365
Movie Review of We Are Marshall (2006) [PG] 127 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $14.75
Where Viewed: AMC Westminster Promenade 24, Westminster, CO
When 1st Seen: 16 December 2006
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Film's Official Website
DVD Release Date: 18 September 2007
Directed by: McG (Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle )
Screenplay by: Jamie Linden (debut) based on a story by Cory Helms (debut) & Jamie Linden
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Matthew McConaughey (Failure to Launch) • Matthew Fox ("Lost") • Anthony Mackie (Half Nelson) • David Strathairn (The Notorious Bettie Page) • Ian McShane (Scoop) • Kate Mara (Zoom) • January Jones (The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada) • Kimberly Williams (How to Eat Fried Worms) • Brian Geraghty (Bobby)
Soundtrack: order the CD below
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
Firm believers of the all-too-USAer-perspective that "real men don't cry" skip ahead, because I'm going on record saying that my eyes were streaming some four or five minutes into the film, so it seemed, the moment the plane, carrying nearly the entire Marshall University football team, coaching staff, some alumni and community business leaders crashed. It was handled so very respectfully, that, perhaps, the impact of the event was even more stunning. I do not know if my three years of affiliation with various teams of high school aged hockey teams a couple of years ago and my thoughts of what it would have been like to lose an entire team of kids increased the impact this tragedy had on me or not. All I know for certain is that it was absolutely 'gut-wrenching'. I had but three napkins with me from the concession stand, and they were useless after ten minutes. We Are Marshall is really not the latest inspirational football movie of the year completing a quadrilogy including Invincible, Facing the Giants, and Gridiron Gang. The film, rather, is better described by lasting impact it has based on the overall experience. Frame by frame, line by line, actor by actor, idea by idea, perhaps, the film has plenty of flaws. Some people may absolutely squirm with discomfort every single time Matthew McConaughey opens his mouth to speak with one side of his jaw clenched or every time Matthew Fox gets that "Lost" look on his face. Some may argue that the role of Paul Griffen should never have gone to Englishman, Ian McShane last seen as the ghost with a purpose in Woody Allen's Scoop. Some may feel the back-seat role of all of the women in the film discriminates against the fairer gender and minimalizes their role in society. Still others may say that the actual football footage just isn't very inspirational or that we've sort of seen this all before in the previous football films of the year and the CBS show "Friday Night Lights". And, to all of that, I would say that generally, it is quite appropriate to have such qualms with this or any film and to down grade it accordingly. Except. Except. Except, one small thing. As most westerners are a product of our Cartesian, mechanistic thinking patterns handed down to us for centuries, as opposed to a systems approach whereby the results may exceed the individual parts. Indeed, some films truly are greater than their parts (literally and figuratively). The overall impact, the lasting emotional feeling they set on the whole of one's soul, can overwhelm when all of the pieces coalesce in ones conscious mind. Such is the case for We Are Marshall. I left the film feeling I could and would be a better person from there on out. I left knowing that the film had changed me in some very significant ways and reminded me of some of my own core, non-western ideals. I left believing in the hope of our own humanity overcoming the rising selfish greed I have witnessed of late.
"gut-wrenching…a remarkable story…induces introspection and leaves a lasting impression on ones heart and soul."
Based on the true story of one of the most terrible tragedies in the history of collegiate sports, the film begins with a quick, but effective, introduction to the team before they board the plane for their ill-fated journey. We meet the head coach, played by an uncredited Robert Patrick, who tells his team just after their loss to East Carolina, that the only thing they will be remembered for is winning. We meet some of the teammates, including one that is recently engaged to a girl back home to whom he's made the promise to leave home and return to California. We also meet an injured player named Nate Ruffin (Anthony Mackie) who is back at home hanging out with a teammate that overslept and missed the plane to the away game and the freshman brother of an older player. We meet asst. coach, Red Dawson (Matthew Fox) who is about to board the plane when, at the last minute, he agrees to switch with another coach previously scheduled to do a recruiting visit, sending the other coach into Red Dawson's seat. And, then, in a flash of darkness, we see the news of the crash spread throughout the family members, the university, and the town and the tidal wave impact it had on all three groups. At first, the board of governors and the university president, Donald Dedmon(David Strathairn) plan to vote to end the program, but a march of solidarity led by Nate Ruffin, turned the vote authorizing President Dedmon to seek a new coach for a team to begin the following year. His short and then long list yields no candidates. Out of the blue, Wooster coach, Jack Lengyel (Matthew McConaughey) calls up Marshall and asks to be considered for the job. With no other prospects, and yet a firm belief in Lengyel, Dedmon offers him the job of rebuilding the football program. With his unique ability to use narratives to persuade just about anyone as to the validity of his points of view and perspective, Coach Lengyel warms up nearly everyone to the idea of the team including luring back Red Dawson for another season. Together, they hire a staff, and the staff begins recruiting. All is not rosy, however, for the their progress. West Virginia is signing all the great players from the area, one of the lost player's father is angry and defiant about the rebuilding as he knows the pain in his heart and the ache it will feel when the new team, the team without his son, begins to play, and one of the former players believes that going ahead with the team is disrespectful. Nothing deters Coach Lengyel. He even has the guts to go and ask WVU's Bobby Bowden for help on his special offense which he believes will be perfect for his team of what would be the first NCAA-approved, collegiate freshman, football players in history due to a special exception granted at the request of President Dedmon.
Director McG, using Jamie Linden's screenplay, has captured a remarkable story on film. As it progresses, it's pretty easy to fall for Coach Lengyel's ideals and way of going about things. He is quite an amazing character with an uncanny understanding of what this team, this university, and this town needs to recover. Over time, and with limited preparation and success, the whole of the film teaches some very important things about life. First, winning isn't everything. In fact, unlike the mixed signals of venerable Green Bay Packer's coach, Vince Lombardi, regarding winning as it being the only thing, Coach Lengyel realizes that for his team, the university, the town, that winning has nothing to do with it. Rather, playing is the key. Without a team playing, the program would die along with the players, and it had been the program that had been so important to the parties, not the wins. He helped them all see that moving on is just as important as remembering, that there is a first time for everything, and that we should do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. Emotionally charged and bittersweet, the film induces introspection and leaves a lasting impression on ones heart and soul. Do not live your life for yourself. Live it in service to others whom you love. Do no live in the past, remember it, honor it, appreciate it, but move on from it. In the end, we are capable of great and lasting contributions to those in our sphere of influence no matter the adversity we must all face.
Director McG, using Jamie Linden's screenplay, has captured a remarkable story on film. As it progresses, it's pretty easy to fall for Coach Lengyel's ideals and way of going about things. He is quite an amazing character with an uncanny understanding of what this team, this university, and this town needs to recover. Over time, and with limited preparation and success, the whole of the film teaches some very important things about life. First, winning isn't everything. In fact, unlike the mixed signals of venerable Green Bay Packer's coach, Vince Lombardi, regarding winning as it being the only thing, Coach Lengyel realizes that for his team, the university, the town, that winning has nothing to do with it. Rather, playing is the key. Without a team playing, the program would die along with the players, and it had been the program that had been so important to the parties, not the wins. He helped them all see that moving on is just as important as remembering, that there is a first time for everything, and that we should do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. Emotionally charged and bittersweet, the film induces introspection and leaves a lasting impression on ones heart and soul. Do not live your life for yourself. Live it in service to others whom you love. Do no live in the past, remember it, honor it, appreciate it, but move on from it. In the end, we are capable of great and lasting contributions to those in our sphere of influence no matter the adversity we must all face.
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
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Other Projects Featuring We Are Marshall (2006)
Cast Members
Matthew McConaughey
• Matthew Fox • Anthony MackieDavid Strathairn
• Ian McShane • Kate MaraJanuary Jones
• Kimberly Williams • Arlen EscarpetaBrian Geraghty
Director
McG
Screenwriter
Jamie Linden
| CD Soundtrack | DVD | VHS |
| T-Shirt | Related Product |
| We Are Marshall Baseball Cap | We Are Marshall Baseball Cap |
| We Are Marshall Coffee Mug | We Are Marshall Memorabilia Set |
We Are Marshall (2006) Review-lite [150-word cap]
We Are Marshall is not the latest inspirational football movie of the year completing a quadrilogy including Invincible, Facing the Giants, and Gridiron Gang. The film, rather, is better described by lasting impact it has based on the overall experience. Frame by frame, line by line, actor by actor, idea by idea, perhaps, the film has plenty of flaws. The overall impact, the lasting emotional feeling it has on the whole of one's soul is, rather, the case for We Are Marshall. Based on the true story of one of the most terrible tragedies in the history of collegiate sports, the film begins with a quick, but effective, introduction to the team before they board the plane for their ill-fated journey. Director McG, using Jamie Linden's screenplay, has filmed a remarkable story. Emotionally charged and bittersweet, the film induces introspection and leaves a lasting impression on ones heart and soul.
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