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Since 1996 |
Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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We Are Marshall Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, Ian McShane, Anthony Mackie, Kate Mara and David Strathairn Director: McG Scriptwriter: Jamie Linden Music: Christophe Beck Cinematography: Shane Hurlbut Warner Brothers Rated: PG Running Length: 124 minutes When a college town loses it's football team, plus coaching staff and some fans, it is a tragedy. This is what happened to Marshall University in 1970 when a plane carrying the aforementioned people crashed as it neared the town. Cory Helms and Jamie Linden wrote a story based on the aftermath of the plane crash, how the town coped, and what happened when the school decided to go ahead and rebuild the football team. It is a "rising from the ashes" theme with good acting and football sequences. You do wonder, though, what fortitude it then took to attend class every day and look at empty chairs or see a football stadium that was useless. As it stated in the film, "The school lost players and coaches and the town lost parents, brothers, sisters, husbands and wives." The first part of the film deals with the crash and you don't see it. The film has a PG rating which includes language, rough gaming and a beer drinking scene. Ian McShane (television's "Deadwood") heads the university's board and he grieves deeply for the loss of his son, as does Kate Mara, who was engaged to the boy. David Strathairn is the college president who decides to find a coach and begin the football program again. No one wants the job, but Matthew McConaughey as Jack applies and brings his blend of wackiness to the school. Matthew Fox (television's "Lost") was supposed to have been on the plane and suffers from flashbacks, but he is persuaded to come back for a year and help Matthew rebuild the team. Anthony Mackie as Nate Ruffin was out with an injury so wasn't on the plane either, but he comes back, too. The story shows how the coaches recruit and get an exception from the collegiate football league to have freshmen play. Finally, with enough players, Marshall has a football team. Ian McShane looks so glum and enunciates his dialogue precisely, so you think he is doing King Lear. Matthew McConaughey needs another action movie like Sahara, because he is on target here only half the time. The other half, he seems to have come from another movie with an adrenaline rush. It is Matthew Fox as the assistant coach and Anthony Mackie as the team's captain who are the glue holding the movie together. Neither actor is afraid to emote effectively and you can read anguish in body language and facial expression. It's a guy's movie because wives are relegated to caring for children and Kate Mara's scenes are 90 percent at the diner where she works. What the movie shows is that the town of Marshall, refused to die along with the team, but decided to put their sorrow aside and bond as a community. There have been other times when communities have had to bond after a sports tragedy including the loss of the United States figure skating team. In We Are Marshall, McG's direction is finely tuned and the film is beautifully photographed by Shane Hurlbut. What can we learn? Never give up. Copyright 2006 Marie Asner Submitted 12/27/06
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