So I've been wanting to see "The Express" since it came out in theaters last October. But I never saw it for several reasons. One, neither my boyfriend or friends were interested. Two, I don't have a car on campus, so I would have to walk to the Sunchase Theater by myself or take the FAB (not fun). Three, I really didn't want to spend $6.50 on a movie that I would be watching by myself.
In the previews, it looks reminiscent of a typical football movie. "Rudy," "Remember the Titans" and "Radio" are such examples. Don't get me wrong, I love these movies (I'm a sucker for them actually), but every story is very much the same: an underdog player or team beats the odds against them and wins the championship and become legacies. They all get repetitive after awhile. But "The Express" was a bit different.
It is similar to "Remember the Titans" in the fact that the movie is set during the heated Civil Rights Movement. However, one big difference is "The Express" is set from the late 1940s up to 1963, while "Titans" is in 1971. Another difference is "Express" follows Ernie Davis from childhood through college, while "Titans" is focused on high school. For a good reason too, because the point was to tell the story of integrating both the high school and football teams in Northern Virginia.
Anyway, enough about comparisons. "The Express" is a great story about Ernie Davis rising through racism in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. His mother then remarries some years later and relocates Ernie to Elmira, New York. He joins a Small Fry Football League and clearly shows excellence and athleticism from there and on through to Elmira Free Academy. But the real action starts when Ernie (Rob Davis) is preparing to go to college.
Syracuse University's famed football coach Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid), who arranges for his best player, Jim Brown (Darrin Dewitt Henson) , to come and attempt to recruit Ernie. After learning that Schwartzwalder will make him a better player, Ernie enrolls and comes to Syracuse.
Then the story changes. Ernie notices that no African-American player has won the Heisman Trophy at Syracuse, but Schwartzwalder tells Ernie it's about winning games, not trophies. Then the other players think Ernie is getting preferrential treatment by wearing Brown's number 44. The team experiences racism first-hand when the play the West Virginia Mountaineers, and Ernie defies Schwarzwalder's oreders not to score more than once, because Ernie is determined not to give into racism.
I'm not going to spoil the ending, because the whole purpose of writing this blog is to get YOU interested in seeing the movies I write about. But I will say have the tissues handy.
"The Express" features spectacular performances by Dennis Quaid as the hard-nosed, gritty yet compassionate and proud Schwartzwalder; Rob Brown as Ernie; and Nicole Beharie as Sarah Ward, Ernie's beautiful and down-to-earth girlfriend studying at Cornell, who surprised Ernie after he was told there were not many African-American women on or around campus.
Check this movie out - you'll love the action and compassion that comes with it!
Stay tuned for next week - I haven't quite decided what movie to review yet - so if you have suggestions for these "rare gems," please let me know! I appreciate all comments and suggestions!
-Laura Beth :)
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