Not all sports stories are inspirational but most of them are, or try to be, and some of the best have messages or statements about life that transcend their sporting tales. When the Game Stands Tall attempts to be one of these “special” movies and may very well succeed as such to some viewers.  That’s fine, because individuals get various rewards from the movies they watch.  If we all liked the same movie, there would be only one movie!

The De La Salle high school varsity football program has won every game it has played for ten years.  “The Streak,” as it has come to be known, finally ends at 151 games, due to several factors that make the 2004 season the toughest that coach Bob Ladouceur (Jim Caviezel) and his players have ever had to face.  But they persevere, learn from the experience, and triumph once again.  How can this kind of a story not be inspirational?

The inspiration aspired to, however, is not so much sports-related as it is life-related. De La Salle is a Catholic school, one which imprints religious teachings along with physical and mental well-being.  This results in a story that may thrill some viewers who wish more films would promote moral responsibility, but may alienate other viewers who lack religious faith.  Either way, Thomas Carter’s film balances on a thin tightrope between preachiness and conservatism, and is sometimes wobbly in its perspective.

Because its young protagonists don’t act like ordinary movie teenagers — they don’t swear, drink, have sex or act stupidly — they don’t seem convincing, especially early in the story.  And in one case, the scriptwriters shortchange not only the audience but their own characters.  A key character is killed, rather dramatically, and the expected scenes of grief follow — and they are well staged.  But where is the anger?  Where is the rage that naturally follows such a senseless killing, particularly of someone so cherished by his community?  (I write this in the aftermath of the Ferguson, Missouri riots after the shooting death of unarmed Michael Brown).  The anger and rage that should be there — and almost certainly was during the true-life events that the movie chronicles — is not present because it doesn’t fit into the script’s design.  Having presented the grief caused by this killing, the matter is rarely addressed again, except as motivation for characters to keep going.  Not one player or coach is ever heard to ask about the investigation, to query about the murder, or to wish the killer ill will, all of which would be natural responses to the situation.  No one loses their temper or barely even yells, all because the script perceives such emotional outbursts as self-destructive, harmful and to be avoided.  Ultimately, the reason I find fault with the film lies with the script’s intricate design, which tries valiantly to channel emotions and logic in one “inspirational” direction, but by doing so fails to reconcile itself to the reality of the world it so studiously recreates.

This is an engrossing story, and the football scenes are extremely well handled, easy to follow and exciting to behold.  A great deal of merit is apparent in this movie, particularly when the action is on the field.  Much of coach Ladouceur’s dialogue is taken directly from real life, as seen and heard during the closing credits when documentary footage shows the real coach saying the same things.  If only Thomas Carter and his team weren’t trying so hard to push the audience to feel things in one specific way.  ☆ ☆ 1/2.  26 August 2014.