Friday Night Lights (2004)

Almost everything works in this portrait of the madness for and around high-school football in a small Texas town. One of the best sports movies I've seen, largely because it's not really about the sport, or the big game, or winning and losing. It's about growing up, letting go of dreams, the pressure adults put on kids to fulfill their own dreams, losing perspective and gaining it. It seems to try and honestly look at both sides of high school football; how it helps young men grow, challenge themselves and bond, but at the same time how it subjects them to physical harm, an unrealistic set of expectations about life after being a local star, and being forced to carry a whole town on your shoulders when you're only 17. Some terrific visuals, both in the quick cutting ferocity of the games, and in the long aerial views of the empty Texas plains. A movie like this depends on its actors, because it is a character drama at its core. Much noise has been made of Billy Bob, and how he gives a great performance, and this is very true, but he is not the only star in this movie. The boys all do a great job too, especially Lucas Black. I have never noticed this actor before, but he is so intense as Mike Winchell that he makes you really feel for him. The other boys, including Derek Luke and Jay Hernandez, are also note- perfect.Few plot twists feel too familiar from other films. I understand those that say the film displays a superior attitude towards these small town people. But I found those weaker moments fleeting in a film that surprised me with the strength of it's acting, writing, and film making.

This is the best football movie I've ever seen. Well I take that back, this is the best sports movie I've ever seen. Funny I never heard about it until recently. But when I realized that Billy Bob Thornton and Lucas Black would be sharing the screen again I definitely had to tune in. So there's this small town with nothing going on and football is their only salvation so they take it seriously. They down right obsess over it. All the adults live vicariously through the high school football players and the players do their best to deal with the immense pressure and stress placed on them to win championships.Thornton did an amazing job but Lucas Black was the star of the show. His performance was powerful and impressive. He displayed so much intensity and conviction that I was with him every step of the way. As a matter of fact all of the main characters did an amazing job. I really liked that this was not a typical football movie about an underdog team that gets their stuff together just in time to win the championship. Just made the move all the more realistic. This movie really is a gem. The director did a fantastic job.

As an ex-player and deep fan of the book, I can truly say that Friday Night Lights captured the emotions of the players and the fans from the "small" town of Odessa. It evokes sentiment during every second and, just like in the book, makes the viewer an instant die-hard fan, a member of Odessa's community of Permian supporters. The actors chosen for their respective roles played their parts brilliantly. Hats off especially to Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Derek Luke, and Garrett Hedlund for their performances. Everyone was totally bonded with their character and did not let go. While the makers did a terrific job in selecting the cast and writing each scene, there were some major issues that interfered with me delving completely into Permian High School, fall 1988. I do not want to sound like a movie sin counter, but I could not look over a lot of the following things.To start off, there was no reason whatsoever for the changes made to the players. Absolutely none. It transformed the story way too much. Brian Chavez was put on defense and had his number changed to 4, an insult to his legacy, in my mind; Ivory Christian was shown to be weak at the beginning and was moved to defensive end as number 90; Boobie Miles had his number changed to 45. They also altered some scores and games that took place. And the list goes on and on. There is no purpose in me dragging on about all the revisions because they can quite simply be Googled. Moving on, the in-your-face anachronism of 21st century cars was quite careless. People were dressed like it was early November for the September 29th game. The zipping about and shaking of the camera, while confusing but suitable for game scenes, was inappropriate for scenes in which a steady shot would easily permit the viewer to grasp what was going on. And last for the list of criticisms, the Rebels game deserved more on-screen time and should have shown the defense playing as well. It made it seem like the Panthers were being absolutely demolished when in fact it was a close game thanks to the defense. I know a large portion of this was dedicated to complaints. But, the flaws stuck out like a sore thumb against the perfection that was the rest of the film. The fact that they only made me dock 2 points says a lot about the quality of the movie. It will pull you in and make you understand and feel what it really is like to be a part of a high school football team in a merciless town. Watched and written 04/13/2014.

They like high school football in West Texas. That previous sentence would have a good chance of winning a competition to determine the biggest understatement in the history of the world. The truth is that in West Texas high school football is an obsession. You watch Friday Night Lights and you see the passion. But passion can go too far. The pressure the adults put on a group of teenage boys is ridiculous. The self-worth of a town is determined by the results of high school football games. Adults live vicariously through the team, trying to relive past glories. Or bask in reflected glory since they never actually had any glory of their own. In the midst of all this stands a coach who has to mold his boys into men while also managing to satisfy the town's bloodlust for victory. And there are the boys themselves, they all have their own hopes and dreams, many of which have nothing to do with football. The players are constantly told that playing high school football will be the greatest thing they do in their lives. How sad it will be if that is true.Coach Gary Gaines, played by Billy Bob Thornton, is the central character in the film. Gaines is a man put under tremendous pressure and he handles it about as well as you could possibly hope he would. He understands that the town's obsession with his team is unhealthy at best, dangerous at worst. But make no mistake, the coach wants to win. And he's got the team to do it. Until he loses his star player to injury in the first game. Can he rally his team in the face of adversity? The movie follows the team on its roller-coaster ride of a season, big ups and downs all along the way. There's some drama, some excitement, and maybe even a little room for growth for some characters who may come to realize there is in fact more to life than high school football.Thornton gives a very strong performance in the starring role. And Tim McGraw is a revelation as the alcoholic, emotionally abusive father of one of the players. While Thornton and McGraw are excellent and create a couple of memorable characters the movie doesn't do as good a job as you would hope in establishing the personalities and stories of the players. The cocky, headstrong star running back has some pizazz to him but injury cuts him down. The film has some good emotional moments with him as he struggles to accept his fate. But when the story turns its attention to the other players things fall somewhat flat. The quarterback is quite bland. Most of the other players remain total mysteries, not established well enough at all for us to really care much about them or their fates. There is the one player, the son of the McGraw character, who has his moments but that story is much more about the dad than the son. It's odd but in this story of a high school football team it is the team itself, the players, who get short shrift. It all makes for an interesting movie but it doesn't pack the emotional wallop of some other movies of its type. There's some decent drama but nothing that really has you on the edge of your seat. This look at a team and its town has some good pieces but it never quite all comes together. In reaching for the goal line maybe this movie comes up just a yard or two short.