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The two Matthews (McConaughey and Fox) bring energy and depth to one of those inspirational, enobling sports pictures
Trying to Triumph Over Tragedy:
We Are Marshall
12-22-06 "Knight Thoughts" web exclusive
By Richard Knight, Jr.
We Are Marshall
12-22-06 "Knight Thoughts" web exclusive
By Richard Knight, Jr.
One can be forgiven for repeating the parody title that's been tagging We Are Marshall since its casting was first announced. It's
a good one: We Are Matthew. But though the film's two stars, Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox continue to be a good reason
to sometimes salivate, joke and -- yes -- fantasize about in their other projects, this is one time that their work is no joking matter.
The movie, a true story, relates the effects of a tragic plane crash in which 75 members of a winning college football team, coaches,
and fans of the team, were killed in 1970. These events occurred in the small, steel mill mining town of Huntington, West Virginia
and in the aftermath of the devastation, many of the survivors, college faculty, and local movers and shakers felt the football
program should be immediately dropped. But the quiet, taciturn dean of their Marshall University (David Strathairn) suspects
otherwise -- especially after the surviving quarterback (played by the talented Anthony Mackie) rouses his schoolmates into holding a
demonstration in which they chant "We Are Marshall," the team (and town's) slogan.
But no one wants to coach or play for a team with three remaining players and Fox, who was the assistant coach who by chance,
missed the flight that killed the others, is too grief stricken to even consider it. Enter McConaughey who auditions for the job and
wins it by appealing to the heart of the dean. All is not smooth on this bumpy road back but McConaughey's character knows that if
he can win just ONE game he will help the town heal.
The picture's largest strength is its stellar cast -- though McConaughey's character is puzzling at first to say the least. The coach acts
a bit like a dimwit -- and seems to dodge any question or problem of even the simplest complexity. Given McConaughey's strange
approach, I half expected it to be revealed that the character had a learning or mental disorder somewhere down the line and that
this was the reason why he felt such empathy with the town -- a case of overcoming adversity at any cost, perhaps.
But that doesn't happen and without explanation, McConaughey's character shifts into a figure of inspiration and the emotional
problem solver for just about everyone he encounters. And with such a tragic event to deal with, it's not surprising that a lot of folks
respond to his support. Fox, playing a character that needs a lot of that support, delivers on the promise that he has offered in two
seasons of the hit show "Lost." He's ready for his close up, Mr. DeMille. Start lining up the movie roles. This guy's got it -- the
acting chops and the looks. I was much less taken with Ian McShane, however, who just creeps me out no matter what he's playing.
Blame it on his extraordinary work as Teddy Bass a/k/a Evil Incarnate in Sexy Beast (don't believe me -- check it out for yourself).
Kate Mara, so wonderful in last year's Brokeback Mountain, brings much to her role as a waitress who is in mourning for the
quarterback she was going to marry.
The picture delivers what just about every other inspirational sports picture does but with the slight difference that it's the whole town
and not just the team that needs to win its way back into life. A good holiday release for 'Da Guys.
a good one: We Are Matthew. But though the film's two stars, Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox continue to be a good reason
to sometimes salivate, joke and -- yes -- fantasize about in their other projects, this is one time that their work is no joking matter.
The movie, a true story, relates the effects of a tragic plane crash in which 75 members of a winning college football team, coaches,
and fans of the team, were killed in 1970. These events occurred in the small, steel mill mining town of Huntington, West Virginia
and in the aftermath of the devastation, many of the survivors, college faculty, and local movers and shakers felt the football
program should be immediately dropped. But the quiet, taciturn dean of their Marshall University (David Strathairn) suspects
otherwise -- especially after the surviving quarterback (played by the talented Anthony Mackie) rouses his schoolmates into holding a
demonstration in which they chant "We Are Marshall," the team (and town's) slogan.
But no one wants to coach or play for a team with three remaining players and Fox, who was the assistant coach who by chance,
missed the flight that killed the others, is too grief stricken to even consider it. Enter McConaughey who auditions for the job and
wins it by appealing to the heart of the dean. All is not smooth on this bumpy road back but McConaughey's character knows that if
he can win just ONE game he will help the town heal.
The picture's largest strength is its stellar cast -- though McConaughey's character is puzzling at first to say the least. The coach acts
a bit like a dimwit -- and seems to dodge any question or problem of even the simplest complexity. Given McConaughey's strange
approach, I half expected it to be revealed that the character had a learning or mental disorder somewhere down the line and that
this was the reason why he felt such empathy with the town -- a case of overcoming adversity at any cost, perhaps.
But that doesn't happen and without explanation, McConaughey's character shifts into a figure of inspiration and the emotional
problem solver for just about everyone he encounters. And with such a tragic event to deal with, it's not surprising that a lot of folks
respond to his support. Fox, playing a character that needs a lot of that support, delivers on the promise that he has offered in two
seasons of the hit show "Lost." He's ready for his close up, Mr. DeMille. Start lining up the movie roles. This guy's got it -- the
acting chops and the looks. I was much less taken with Ian McShane, however, who just creeps me out no matter what he's playing.
Blame it on his extraordinary work as Teddy Bass a/k/a Evil Incarnate in Sexy Beast (don't believe me -- check it out for yourself).
Kate Mara, so wonderful in last year's Brokeback Mountain, brings much to her role as a waitress who is in mourning for the
quarterback she was going to marry.
The picture delivers what just about every other inspirational sports picture does but with the slight difference that it's the whole town
and not just the team that needs to win its way back into life. A good holiday release for 'Da Guys.
