Flick of The Day: Friday Night Lights

Sport, as we have noted before in our reviews of Fever Pitch and Senna, contains all the basic elements of great drama. There is the necessary conflict in that there can only be one winner in a game. There is the full gamut of human emotion from the heartbreaking tragedy of Aryton Senna's death to the elation of Arsenal's winning season in Fever Pitch. It is something which brings out the obsessive in us all. Today's flick of the day, Friday Night Lights, attempts to document this obsession in the form of a small town football team in West Texas.

Friday Night Lights

Odessa, Texas 1988. The home of the Permian High School Panthers, a football team setting out on the road to a State Championship. From the early days of pre season training to the bitter finale, the film attempts to document the entire season in a town where football is the only game and where second place is not acceptable. The obsessive nature of the townsfolk is scary at times as it threatens to weight down the student athletes. The young cast and the small town people are well sketched. There is the star player who will supposedly carry the team to glory, Boobie Miles played by Derek Luke. The tough quarterback with a hard family life, Mike played by Lucas Black of Fast and the Furious fame. The abusive and domineering father played by a surprisingly good Tim McGraw and above all the world weary head coach played by a career best Billy Bob Thornton,

The first thing that must be said is that the film transcends its sport. I have little or no knowledge of American Football and yet I found it very compelling. Ultimately this is a tale of the power of hope and the dangers of obsession. You would have to a heart of stone not to feel a little sympathy for the team at their lowest point. They go through everything together as a team and undoubtedly come out at the end as better people because of it.

Coach Gary Gaines: [half-time speech] I want you to take a moment, and I want you to look each other in the eyes. I want you to put each other in your hearts forever because forever is about to happen here in just a few minutes. I want you to close your eyes, and I want you to think about Boobie Miles, who is your brother. And he would die to be out there in that field with you tonight. And I want you to put that in your hearts. Boys my heart is full. My heart is full.

Thornton is near perfect as the coach under an immense pressure from the various grandees around town to deliver a title. He inhabits the role to a degree I have not seen in his other work. Lucas Black also gives a fine performance as the taciturn quarterback who is torn between looking after himself and looking after his ill mother. Tim McGraw is also excellent as a deeply flawed father to one of the players, in a compelling and intense performance.

All in all, this is an enjoyable and compelling film, making the most of a great real life story adapted from a 1990 bestseller by American journalist H.G Bissinger. There are some fine performances from a decent all round cast and it manages to get to the heart of the dangerous obsession fans have for their teams to the detriment of the rest of their lives. Well worth a look.