Film Review: Remember the Titans

American football is an intrinsic part of American culture and film. Alongside my good friend and fellow blogger The Rolling Picture we will hope to provide insight and thoughts on American film and football in a series called “American Film and Football” (up all night on that one.)

Director: Boaz Yakin

A Walt Disney film which has been produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and based on a true story involving the real life characters of Gerry Bertier and Julius Campbell. The film features a soundtrack featuring a lot of music popular in 1971 which is when the movie is set.

The team during training camp

T.C. Williams high school in Alexandria, Virginia has been desegregated due to a new race law in the county. Herman Boone (played with huge integrity by Denzel Washington) is appointed as the new head coach much to the dismay of many people in the town and it is his job to bring the black and white athletes together to make a winning team. A task made very difficult by the early arguments and fights that the players have at training camp. The American Football scenes are definitely from the old-school where teams power up the middle with the running back and a hard hitting defense, one team uses the shotgun and are mocked by one of the Titans coach. It's realistic football for a high school in 1971.

Aside from a strong performance from Denzel Washington, there are smaller roles for actors like Donald Faison, Ethan Suplee and Ryan Gosling all appearing in roles quite different from what they are known for. Wood Harris and Ryan Hurst play the two main characters within the team who are both use to being the top player on the defense, both play the arrogant yet intelligent men well.

I think you have overlooked a fantastic performance by a young Hayden Panitierre (famous for Heroes and dating huge men.) She plays Sheryl Yoast, daughter of Bill Yoast. She portrays a lot of anger in the film, without being overblown. Her friendship with Boone’s daughter is a great sub plot and provides great anchor point to the more touchy subjects in the fil,.

I also thing the left side/strong side scene between Gerry Bertier and Julius Campbell is a sweet moment and provides some heartfelt sincerity.

Interesting fact about the last game in the film, Hollywood made it a close battle but in reality the 1971 Titans won the championship game 27-0 with the opposing team getting -5 yards of offense. No one likes a winner.

Julius Campbell (Wood Harris) and Gerry Bertier (Ryan Hurst) argue

It's a story of how sports, in this case American Football, can bring people together despite the racial prejudices that were present at the time. One scene is when the team return to school after training camp to see riots from protestors and none of the students mixing with one another, it's a weird feeling for the guys on the football team as they have already learnt to trust each other and be friends so don't necessarily understand what all the fuss is about anymore. The topics are approached in a sensitive but slightly unsubtle way with Denzel Washington the power and behind the message.

I think this is a fantastic film and addresses some tricky problems with sensitivity whilst creating a motivational and family orientated film. This being Disney there had to be a happy ending and some of the scenes were toned down a little compared to the real life incidents (Replacing an entire toilet with a brick was a nice touch.) The football was what you expect from a film with few full-back runs and lots of four verticals glamour plays but hey ho it’s about the kids, not the football.