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Friday Night Lights 2004 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Peter Berg
PG-13, 117 min. (thematic issues, sexual content, language) |
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Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Garrett Hedlund, Derek Luke, Jay Hernandez, Lee Jackson, Lee T. Young, Tim McGraw
Producer: Brian Grazer
Screenplay: David Aaron Cohen, Peter Berg
Cinematography: Tobias A. Schliessler
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Released: 10.08.04 (Wide) |
Rating:
  (out of ) |
Friday Night Lights is based upon the popular Friday Night Lights by Buzz Bissinger (which chronicled the Odessa
Permian High School football team in 1988), and like the book focuses its gaze upon the players, townspeople, and intense pressure behind
the nearly insatiable desire to win at all costs. Set in Odessa, Texas, the famous football hotbed of the South, the film
is more a portrait of how sports has transcended all aspects of society, including education. Indeed, one person from the
town remarks, "They're doing too much learning in the school," after a loss. Directed by Peter Berg, the film is an amalgamation of
snapshots of football, relationships, and the hard lessons of life that eventually trump the importance of a football game.
This is not in the same vein as The Natural or Hoosiers, but more in the vacinity of Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday.
Except that Friday Night Lights manages to successfully combine the gritty elements of football with the behind the scenes consternation
of a football town that will not tolerate losing.
As the town readies for the upcoming season, the pressure to win a state championship is clearly seen on the face of
Coach Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton in another solid effort), whose team is led by talented but cocky star James "Boobie" Miles (Derek Luke),
a running back with NFL aspirations. Everything seems to be going according to plan until Miles suddenly injures his knee
in the first game of the season, shocking the community and leaving his teammates reeling. Now quarterback
Mike Winchell (Lucas Black) must lead the team, with backup running back Don Billingsley (Garrett Hedlund) and
defensive star Chris Comer (Lee Thompson Young) to find a way to win despite their best player's absence. Thrust into the
spotlight for the first time, these players must overcome their fears and the pressures from family members and friends
in order to reach their ultimate goal.
Berg manages to capture the heart of high school football in Texas with aplomb. His hand-held camera shots and "in the moment"
filmmaking enhance the viewing experience while providing the unflinching feel of life off the football field. His scenes instill
quick edits and lingering short and long shots to impart a sense of chaos that occurs in the heat of the game. And when
Don must deal with his father's (Tim McGraw in a stirring performance) intimidating demand for perfection, we can fully
appreciate the difficulty of pleasing someone who cannot accept our failures. His father won a state title 20 years earlier
and doesn't understand why his son can't carry on the tradition with ease. Usually drunk and sometimes abusive, his
relationship with his son eerily mirrors the town's love/hate attitude toward the team and Coach Gaines. Gaines is a man of
steady nerves. He focuses his energy on keeping the team together with fiery speeches and gentle conversations about life
with some of his players, all in a desire to win on the field to protect both his job and his family. He is under a constant
state of not-so-thinly-veiled threats from boosters and school officials to win regardless of the price. Berg has wisely chosen
to concentrate his efforts on the lives behind the game, and the results are impressive.
Friday Night Lights also delivers the goods in respect to the climax, which is adeptly crafted and holds suspense at a high level
until the somewhat surprising end (at least for those who haven't read the book). Despite its hard edge, the film reveals
a softer acknowledgment of perspective through the lives of the players and coach that have traveled the difficult road together.
In some ways the end is almost a relief; their part is finished and left for others to continue. Because the film prefers to
operate in the realm of reality rather than pure fiction, it provides a unique and honest view of people (both directly and
indirectly) who are driven by something that has become larger than just a game. It's said that sport is a microcosm of
life, and in that respect Friday Night Lights lives in a world familiar to many.
© 2004 Jonathan Cornwell
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 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
| Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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