|
| Miracle
Year: 2004
Classification: Drama
Directed:
- Gavin O'Connor
Actors/Actresses:
- Kurt Russell
- Patricia Clarkson
- Nathan West
The True Cold War
I remember sitting around the television, with members of my family, to watch the USA Olympic Hockey Team defeat the Russians in 1980. At the time, the country was in desparate need of a morale boast, in part because of the Iran hostage crisis. The spirited and hard fought victory in thae pivitol game did just that. As a hockey fan and considering the state of NHL today, I was wondering if Miracle would help recreate that sense of pride I felt at the time.
This is the true story of the late coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell), who in 1980 had the distinction of having been the last player cut from the U.S. hockey team the last time the team won the Gold at the Olympics (in 1960). Brooks got his chance at being part of a medal-winning team, however, when he led the U.S. hockey team to victory over the Soviets (who had won the medal the last four times: 1976, 1972, 1968, and 1964 since that 1960 U.S. win) at the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid despite overwhelming odds.
Directed by Gavin O'Connor, the film faithfully honors the actual events. As Brooks, who sadly died in a car crash in August 2003, Russell gives yet another great performance. His work here demonstates something that I think few folks realize--just how good an actor he is. He plays Brooks as he truly was, a multi-layered man, whose style and innovation are the stuff of legend. I also enjoyed the performance of actress Patricia Clarkson playing Brooks' wife. She deserves all of her newfound acclaim and success. The film will take you back to that era--right down to the clothes and interesting hairstyles. The hockey footage is staged very well and is almost as exciting to watch as the real thing. The movie takes the David and Goliath aspect to the story and does it justice without going overboard or making it seem artificial. The cast of "players" are very good as well (and they can actually play the game).
The 2 disc DVD set has a solid bunch of extras. The audio commentary with O'Connor, editor John Gilroy and director of photography Daniel Stoloff, gives listeners a well rounded discussion on how the film came together. "The Making of Miracle" is a fairly typical featurette..."First Impressions: Herb Brooks with Kurt Russell and the filmmakers" ends up being a fine tribute to Brooks. I also enjoyed the ESPN roundtable with members of the 1980 team, actor Kurt Russell and host Linda Cohn and "From Hockey to Hollywood: The Actors' Journey" featurette, how real life players made the movie teams. Outtakes/deleted scenes and a sound effects/soundtrack featurette rounds out the set.
With those in charge of the NHL nattering over the fate of the league's future, Miracle restores my hopes for the game. I think both sides should be required to watch this film.
Almost makes me care about hockey
People my age probably remember where they were when John and Bobbie Kennedy were shot, when Armstrong stepped onto the moon, when the Challenger blew up, when the Berlin Wall came down. Perhaps even when the U.S. Olympic hockey team beat the unbeatable Soviets in 1980. And I don't even care for hockey that much.
MIRACLE is the story of that legendary upset, and the grueling training that led up to that glorious moment, told from the perspective of the coach, Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell). A member of the 1960 Olympic squad, Brooks was cut from the team a week before its first Olympic match and subsequent gold medal victory. After that, the USSR Olympians dominated the sport for the next twenty years. Through his "boys", Brooks sought personal redemption and an end to Soviet hegemony.
The first film of 2003 of Oscar caliber was SEABISCUIT, the story of an earlier underdog. Although, as of this review, the Academy Awards have yet to be handed out for 2003, MIRACLE is perhaps the first 2004 release deserving of next year's Oscar consideration. Not for Best Picture, but for Russell as Best Actor (though I didn't believe for a moment that was the actor's real hair).
MIRACLE is about Coach Brooks. While the young actors that portray the twenty-some players do a creditable job, they're all pretty much lost against the background of team identity. And that's as it should be because their amazing victory was, and necessarily had to be, a team effort. This point is effectively made for the audience during a tortuous set of punishment drills after a poorly played exhibition match against the Norwegian national team when one of Herb's players finally correctly answers the question he constantly poses, "Who do you play for?" It's a moment of revelation for all concerned.
Just as the horse race action in SEABISCUIT almost made me go down to the track and squander the mortgage payment on a first-ever bet, MIRACLE's camera work on the ice almost morphed me into a rabid hockey puck. You, the viewer, are right there in the thick of the furious melee expecting to be slammed against the boards or slashed with a stick at any moment. There's an adrenaline rush not felt with, say, curling.
At the film's end, a voiceover by Russell-Brooks reminds us that, soon after the 1980 Gold Medal upset, America's Olympic hockey team was opened to pro players of the National Hockey League to thus create the "Dream Team" concept - but no Olympic squad since then has ever captured "the dream". Honor is due Brooks and his amateurs.
An Inspirational, Feel Good Film For Everyone
I'm not a big fan of spectator sports. A group of guys batting, kicking and/or hitting a ball around a field doesn't do much for me, usually. But one time when guys, pucks and sticks made me cheer, as I sat riveted to my TV screen, was during the 1980 Olympic "Miracle."
1979-1980 were not good years for the United States. Militant Iranians took US citizens hostage in our embassy in Teheran, the USSR invaded Afghanistan, the Cold War was at below zero temperatures, and at home gas prices were sky high, as were interest rates. The film is set in the context of this period, which makes it even more exciting. Americans really needed something to cheer about.
In the summer of 1980, newly hired US Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks took a group of boys, average age 21, worked them 'til they dropped for seven months, taught them new strategies, made them into a cohesive team, and miraculously led them to unbelievable victory. They beat the pants off the unbeatable champion Soviet hockey team in what has been called the "Miracle on Ice." In a super surprise win, the underdog US team, which had played poorly against the much older Russian veterans a few weeks before at Madison Square Garden, made all the right moves to score success, 4 to 3. The team then went on to win Olympic Gold! The Cold War may be long over, but remembering the moment still feels sweet. The look on the Soviet coach's face alone is worth the price of the rental. And now the "moment" and more can be relived - seen on the big screen, with accurate details and superb characterizations, in director Gavin O'Connor's and screenwriter Eric Guggenheim's "Miracle."
Kurt Russell is superb as coach Brooks. He has the Minnesota accent down pat, chews gum like Brooks - 500 chews per minute...and even looks like him. Actual ice hockey players were cast as teammates in O'Connor's quest to make this an authentic sports film. The last 30 minutes of footage are devoted to the US - Soviet match. But the movie is as much a character study as it is a film about Olympic sport. And Russell's understated, intense performance is compelling. Patricia Clarkson is excellent as Brooks' wife Patty, as is Noah Emmerich as assistant coach Craig Patrick.
The movie is dedicated to Herb Brooks, who was tragically killed in an auto accident over a year ago. He is portrayed as a complex man who was totally dedicated to his sport and his team, to the detriment, at times, of his family life. This is a wonderful film to see with the entire family. You don't have to be a hockey fan to remember February 22, 1980.<BR>JANA
Buy Miracle at Amazon.com
Buy posters at Allposters.com
Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone! | |
|
