The Express, a review by Rich
The Express
Based on a true story, "The Express" follows the extraordinary life of college football hero Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. His fight for equality and respect forever changed the face of American sports, and his story continues to inspire new generations. Raised in poverty in Pennsylvania coal-mining country, Davis hurdled social and economic obstacles to become one of the greatest running backs in college football history. Under the guidance of legendary Syracuse coach Ben Schwartzwalder, he became a hero who superseded Jim Brown's achievements and set records that stand to this day. Decorated veteran Schwartzwalder was a Southerner with a single vision of a national championship and hardened ideas about how the world worked. But, though he and Davis clashed mightily, he taught the player everything he knew about football, just as Davis helped him learn the true meaning of victory. As the growing civil rights movement divided the country in the '60s, Davis became a symbol for achievement that transcended race. Refusing to flinch from others' prejudices, he achieved all his goals--until he faced a challenge that would make most men crumble. He joined the ranks of black pioneers by teaching a generation tolerance, inspiring a movement that smashed barriers on and off the field. These 'uplifting' true sports stories are becoming more and more common, and I sat down for this worrying it may fall into the 80% made which are too gushy and overdone to be pallatable.
Fortunately this film about Ernie Davis was made in a thoughtful, realistic, and straight down the line way, and was pretty enjoyable, albeit despite it's name of Express, it rather crawled along through the story.
Perhaps the time has come now to reduce the making of such films portraying the overcoming of bygone 'black' bigotry by American sportsmen, and discover some new avenues to pursue on the screen. The focus of the film IMO strayed too far on the portrayal of the coach, one assumes due that the star billing Dennis Quaid played this part? I'd have liked to have learnt more about Ernie Davis, who seemed a very interesting character.
In summary I enjoyed the film, it is definately not the best of its genre, but by no means not the worst.
(From Riches Random Reviews on January 25th, 2009)
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May 12, 2024, 06:57:38 AM
