McFarland, USA
DIRECTOR: Niki Caro
CAST: Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Carlos Pratts, Morgan Saylor
CLASSIFICATION: PG
RUNNING TIME: 129 minutes
RATING: ***
Kevin Costner returns to the sports movie genre in this inspirational story of an underdog cross-country team.
Disney has created something of its own genre of inspirational sports movies. The Rookie, Miracle and Million Dollar Arm were earlier examples, some more successful than others. Now McFarland, USA can be added to the list, and it turns out to be an engaging variation on a very familiar theme.
The film honours some of the parameters of the genre – underdog team rallies as it moves toward victory – while adding some intriguing contemporary elements. Screen-writers Christopher Cleveland, Bettina Gilois, and Grant Thompson retell the (mainly) true story of a coach in the Central Valley of California who led a Hispanic high school team to a cross-country championship. While the beats of the story are often stock, the film benefits from sensitive direction by Caro and from a most appealing performance by Costner.
At first glance some might object to the idea of another white saviour, who is actually named Jim White, coming to the rescue of minority misfits. But the concept works because White is presented as far from a paragon, a man with anger management issues that cost him many earlier jobs. When he lands in McFarland, California, he seems to be at the end of the line, and is not exactly thrilled with the insolent young players on the high school football team. But when he realises that these kids have actually picked up speed and stamina from their work in the agricultural fields, he senses they may have a future as cross-country runners.
The white-man-as-saviour trope is also mitigated by the fact that the kids are feisty and unimpressed by their coach. So mentor and students learn from each other in a predictable but pleasing story arc. Sharply observed details invigorate the movie. Caro and her crew get a very lived-in feeling to the scenes in ethnic neighbourhoods. All performances are strong, though it’s too bad that Bello as the coach’s wife isn’t given a more nuanced character to play.
Some of the young actors are newcomers discovered in the area. Pratts, who plays the most temperamental but gifted runner, is a professional, and he seethes with convincing resentments. Ramino Rodriguez as the team’s mascot also scores. Even minor roles, like the school principal and some of the boys’ parents, are expertly cast and vividly played.
Still, it is Costner who holds the picture together. This is one of the best performances he’s given, unforced but often eloquent, without the least trace of grandstanding. It stirs pleasing memories of his work in other sports movies back in the ’80s.
Although the film may not have been intended as a political statement, it does take on a measure of urgency because of renewed debate about the US’s national immigration problem. And McFarland can’t help but have an impact on that debate because of the skill with which it discovers the humanity of people who are belittled and demonised in some quarters. This isn’t to say that it’s a flawless piece of agitprop. Caro lets the story drag on a little too long, and sometimes ladles on the syrup too heavily.
Despite these overstated moments, it is pretty hard to resist the rousing conclusion. – The Hollywood Reporter
If you liked Million Dollar Arm or The Rookie, you will like this.