Film Review: Friday Night Lights (2004)
An Absorbing Exploration of Texas High-school Football
Entire Lone Star State towns close when the local team hits the Friday-night gridiron. Diners, gas stations, libraries and even bars bear "Gone to Game" signs, as every ambulatory citizen flocks to a stadium that's almost absurdly huge, compared to the rest of the town. The players and coaches are local heroes--as long as they win.
Friday Night Lights Has an Eventful Season
Based on the best-selling book by H.G. Bissinger, Friday Night Lights covers the dramatically eventful 1988 season of the Permian High Panthers in Odessa, a west Texas oil town.
After winning four state championships in thirty years, the Panthers badly wanted another in '88. Lacking size, they relied instead on speed and the overwhelming talent of their star running back, John "Boobie" Miles. But Boobie blew out a knee in the season opener, forcing Gary Gaines, the Panthers' coach, to find new strategies.
Having fallen short of the championship in his first two seasons, Gaines knew his job was less secure than a broken door. He put the heat on his players, who also felt the concrete-crushing pressure of the town's expectations. Ultimately, the struggling but tenacious Panthers reached the state championship game against the Dallas Carter Cowboys' steamrolling power in the Houston Astrodome.
First-rate direction and cinematography
Director Peter Berg and cinematographer Tobias Schliesser skillfully convey the Panthers' importance to Odessa. There are stark shots of the wide, flat, barren land on the road into town, the creaky oil refineries, the battered business offices and tiny houses. Washed-out color cinematography underscores the dullness. But Berg and Schliesser also provide saber-sharp shots of the town's 20,000-seat Ratliff Stadium, plus achingly beautiful sunsets over the field.
Skillful Montages, Topnotch Stunts
Berg and editor David Rosenbloom are masters of the montage---multiple short, contrasting shots that create an emotional collage in the viewer. A long shot of a Panther fumbling is followed by a close-up of his disgusted dad. A pile-on tackle of another Panther cuts to fans yelling at each other in the stands. The scene then shifts to lovely, smiling cheerleaders being tossed toward the sky.
Thanks to the montages and stunt coordinator Allan Graf, the football scenes are startlingly realistic. We feel the offense crashing into the defensive line, the searing pain from a Panther's dislocated shoulder, and the seesawing, gut-tingling excitement of the climactic championship game.
Actors Defeat Potential Cliches
Friday Night Lights has some potential cliches. Chris Comer, an untried junior running back, must conquer his fear to replace Boobie. Quarterback Mike Winchell wants to care for his chronically-ill mother as much as he wants to ride his talent out of Odessa. Charlie Billingsley once helped the Panthers win a championship, but now he drunkenly browbeats his son Don, who is struggling to match his dad's achievement.
But the actors overwhelm those potential cliches with truth. Lee Thompson Young conveys both Chris' inner struggle and his steady growth toward resolving it. Lucas Black powerfully portrays Mike's conflicting emotions. As Charlie and Don, respectively, Tim McGraw and Garrett Hedlund embody the tension between their characters' mutual resentment and love. Derek Luke takes Boobie from strutting superstar to broken young man with wrenching ease.
Billy Bob Thornton Triumphant
Above all is Billy Bob Thornton as Coach Gaines. Like the great Method actors at their best--Brando, Pacino, Hoffman, DeNiro--Thornton disappears into his role. He makes us feel Gaines' worry over his job, his conflicting feelings about his mixed role as drill sergeant and father figure, frustration at bad plays and calls and joy over the good ones, and ultimately his love for his players.
In sum, Friday Night Lights is an fine film. One need not be a football fan--or for that matter, a student of cultural phenomena--to find it absorbing, exciting and often moving.
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