3.5 stars. Rated PG-13, for thematic material and brief profanity
By Derrick Bang
When it comes to true-life sports
sagas, few can match the triumphant power of Jesse Owens’ amazing feats at the
1936 Olympics.
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| Having demonstrated his incredible speed on the track, Jesse Owens (Stephan James, center) is congratulated by his coach, Larry Snyder (Jason Sudeikis, far right). Both have their eyes on the bigger prize: qualifying for the 1936 Berlin Olympics. |
His few days in Berlin, striking a
glorious blow against Adolf Hitler’s racist vision of Aryan supremacy,
resonated to a degree that can’t really be calculated. Certainly the Nazi
despot was humiliated before the world, and one can’t help speculating whether
the subsequent timetable of German events was influenced by such embarrassment.
Such a story.
So sad — and so puzzling — that
the better part of a century has passed, before it was brought to the big
screen.
Director Stephen Hopkins has made
up for this oversight, with the family-friendly Race — great title, just in passing — which displays a degree of
heart and dignity that Owens likely would have appreciated.
Despite the existence of numerous
published biographies and Owens’ own memoir, writers Joe Shrapnel and Anna
Waterhouse have fashioned an original script that focuses solely on the two
years leading up to the 1936 Olympics. That’s a shrewd decision, as it allows
this 134-minute film to concentrate on these key events without feeling rushed.
We catch up with Owens (Stephan
James) in 1934, just as he’s about to begin his college career at Ohio State
University. He leaves behind a girlfriend, Ruth (Shanice Banton), and their
young daughter, promising to send money whenever possible. Sadly, and despite
being mentored by head track coach Larry Snyder (Jason Sudeikis), Jesse finds
the locker room environment unpleasantly racist.
No doubt the reality was much worse
than what is depicted here. We certainly get the point, but Hopkins chooses a
restrained approach more akin to 2013’s Jackie Robinson biopic, 42, than the often grim brutality of Selma (which also featured James).
