craiger'sfirst
full-lengthreview
January, 2004
MIRACLE
½
2004, PG, 116 mins.
Herb Brooks: Kurt Russell / Jim Craig: Eddie Cahill / Jack O'Callahan: Michael Mantenuto / Mike Eruzione: Patrick O'Brien Dempsey / Ralph Cox: Kenneth Mitchell / Rob McClanahan: Nathan West / Craig Patrick: Noah Emmerich / Mrs. Brooks: Patricia Clarkson
Directed by Gavin O'Connor / Written by Eric Guggenheim
Let's face it, hockey is and always
has been our game. It is in our collective consciousness, our
spirits, and its an inseparable and integral part of our national history
and culture. The intoxicating allure of the game is really what separates
us from everyone else.
The 1970's that paved the way for
the 80's were rippled with social and political calamities for the United
States. Watergate all but polarized the American public and can be
attributed for the genuine lack of trust in political figures that can, I feel,
still be seen in the present day. The US failure in Vietnam left its
citizens flabbergasted. The Cold War, in the late 70's, was reaching a
climatic peak. In 1979 not only did Moscow invaded Afhganistan but a
group of Iranians took US citizens hostage which erupted into a National Crisis.
Before the dawn of 1980, President Jimmy Carter, in a gutsy presidential
address, told the American people that he was fearing that they were losing
"confidence" in their country.
But on February 22, 1980 in Lake
Placid New York, a ragtag group of US hockey players defeated the then
unstoppable Russian team and went on to win a gold medal at the 1980 Winter
Olympics.
So, big deal...right?
It’s easy to overlook the cultural and historical
significance of this victory, the "Miracle on Ice". It was
analogous to a bunch of pond hockey players defeating the Detroit Red Wings.
The US never defeated the Russians in 20 years in 1980. The Russians, a
year early, punished a team of NHL All-Stars 6-0. The US hockey team that
was comprised did not have the "best of the best.", but were comprised
of mostly adequate talent. The Russian team was arguably the best hockey
team in the world with one of the best goaltenders ever to lace up the skates. They
had players that were teammates for 15 years whereas the US team only had 6
months to develop chemistry. Yet, on that day in Lake Placid nearly
24 years ago, a Minnesota coach with a bit of University experience named
Herb Brooks took his team of misfits and won what ESPN.COM voted as
"the greatest game in sports history."
That game instilled confidence in
the Americans, and it was a breath of fresh air that made people forget
problem-filled 1970's. Simply put...it gave them something to just cheer
about.
MIRACLE,
a wonderful new family entertainment, is the story of this great sports moment.
However, it's not so much ABOUT the victory as it is about THE JOURNEY towards the
victory. At the center of it all is Herb Brooks, played very
effectively by Kurt Russell. The film is really HIS story of how he
commanded a singular and confident vision to take the US team to Olympic
Victory. Seemingly, everyone around him basically thought him to be a
lunatic, including his players. Truth be told, Brooks was by no means
perfect. He was brash, rude, verbally abusive, insensitive towards his
staff and players, and used highly questionable methods to train his and
motivate his players. Yet, he was a man with a vision and clear goals, and
should be respected as a individual who maintained his focus and never lost
track of it. The power of MIRACLE is that it too never looses focus
of Brooks the coach. It a world in which sports pictures are dominated by
the young players, it's great to see one that focuses on the near military-esque
tactics that coaches employ to win games.
Russell has never been better than
he is here, and if the Academy could lengthen its attention span to remember
this performance come next year, Russell should walk away with a nomination.
Considering that he has played everything from the sci-fi actioneer Snake
Pliskin to the mythic Wyatt Earp, Brooks is his most sincere, honest, and real
character he has ever presented to us. The supporting cast is also
uniformly good, which is surprising considering that they hired hockey players
first and actors second. The final 25 minutes which includes the game
versus the Russians is a virtuoso set of action set pieces in which the
fantastic editing and cinematography provides us with a grunt view of the
proceedings. Its so raw and visceral you feel like you are on the
ice. This isn't THE MIGHTY DUCKS...MIRACLE is the SAVING
PRIVATE RYAN of hockey films.
There is one small and tender
moment in the film that truly separates it from all other sports films.
Its a scene near the end of the US Victory versus the Russians where Brooks runs
out of the arena of screaming fans and cheering players. He stops in a
quiet and desolate corridor and finally release a sign of not only jubilation
and pride, but of internal satisfaction and relief. He pumps his hands in
the air and almost whisper/cries "yes" and finally collapses against a
wall and seemingly breaks down. Here is a man who in mentally and
physically spent, but is emotionally as satisfied as he'll ever be. You
can feel that his victory is a 20 year culmination of all of his dreams, and
Russell sells this so perfectly. Sports films are rarely this
sensitive and introspective.
MIRACLE is one of the surprisingly effective sports pictures of the last few years. It is a genuinely inspirational story that should not only appease and entertain hockey fans, but people who like stories of people overcoming immeasurable odds. Its kind of amazing how well the film has the patience to develop its story. Its both sincere with its introductions and surprisingly tense and exciting in its conclusion (which is amazing considering how anti-climatic the film really is...we all know who wins!). It not only pays respect to the game of hockey by focusing on strategy, but it really allows the people BEHIND the bench to come out and shine. Isn't it refreshing in a sports film to have the COACH stand up and be the hero?
