Woodlawn (2015)

Just perfect...

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Every possible cliche in the mantra is used in this saccharine sweet "god holy jesus' bucket of wasted production dollars - it angers me because the film does not come with a warning - "religious propaganda" - I approached it without knowing and the intro was quite well done - they even paid Jon Voight for a cameo. Five minutes in and we are 'amazed by the power of the word of God' - I left the gym without being drafted to the team.

This film is a conundrum. On one hand it's a nice story, well made and great looking. I hate the sport of American Football but I do enjoy a few films on the subject, the game sequences are well constructed, the athletes convincing and the performances solid.On the other hand however, what could have been a life-affirming story of triumph in the face of adversity, crossing the racial divide and uniting a community, is bogged down in a mire of heavy handed religious indoctrination. It oozes out of every scene, indeed, before the final credits roll, we are given the dates of upcoming tour appearances by mega rich and exploitative corporate pastors, people who prey on the vulnerable and helpless.I'm in no doubt religion is a part of the Woodlawn story but as the film develops, it becomes little more than a cult-like recruiting tool. The redemption, success and unity could of course only be attributed to God, there can be no other reason, those who initially do not accept God very quickly realise that, of course they were wrong and dive headlong into the arms of the church and all is good in the world.Christianity is envisioned as a beleaguered victim of oppression, something which is being buried by evil, we have the town bad guy who baulks at the idea of public prayer only to see that even he cannot oppress the light of Jesus in the town. I've been to Alabama and to claim with a straight face that God is frowned upon there is pure insanity, they're nuts about it, it's everywhere.Caleb Castille as Tony Nathan is excellent and like I said, it's a well put together film that I enjoyed, however, in order for me to commit fully to the film I had to consciously try to ignore the Jesus being rammed down my throat.Had the filmmakers included religion as merely an ingredient in the story instead of the driving force (as almost all American High School sports films insist on doing) then this would be a far more effective film.In claiming that everything good that happens is explainable only as an act of god, belittles the achievement of an outstanding athlete and man who worked incredibly hard to overcome adversity and makes the ensuing unity of the town far less effective, taking away all the basic goodness of humanity and replacing it with "proof" of god.Cut out all the Jesus and this would be a solid 7/10, maybe an 8

The problems started in Birmingham, Alabama when forced integration was imposed. The time is the 1970s and Alabama is a hot bed of racial tensions and what happened here with the Woodlawn High School football team can be truly called a miracle. The positive impact of what this team did to help themselves and the community is still going on today. This is based upon a true story.I mention Tony Nathan above as many may know who he is. I had no idea who he was at the time, but he could run routes unlike any other and even caught the attention of Paul "Bear" Bryant, (Jon Voight) the legendary Coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide.This all starts with the entrance as self described Evangelist known as Hank (Sean Astin). He just shows up one day and some of us thought he was not real, was never really there or was an Angel (Thinking big, are we?) Hmmm? Then the miracle aspect would have made sense. After some resistance, he gets the team to come together by praying together and it works. They come together as a team and learn to rely on each other to win. Of course, we see the High School Superintendent as vigorously opposed to all this and threatens the Woodlawn Coach Gerelds (Nic Bishop). In time the prayer fest spreads throughout the community and, at one point, this also spreads to one of Woodlawn's fiercest rivals, the Banks Jets.The story is indeed inspirational and well acted throughout. But one of the real winners in here is the music that will "pump you up" and even get you to cheering when you had no intention of doing so. (Was that really you jumping up and down?)The football game scenes are nothing but brutal and I made several doctor appointments. Although this is preachy in places, you need to remember that this is all true and what happened because of it may be considered a miracle. Racial tensions in the 1970s in the South were real and, in many ways, are still real. Again, the impact of what happened in Woodlawn and Birmingham is still going on and this is a good thing. Again, this is well worth your time. Jon Voight as Paul "Bear" Bryant outdoes himself and you only see Paul "Bear" Bryant and this is quite a treat.Stay to the end to see what happened to : Tony Nathan, Coach Gerelds, Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, QB Jeff Rutledge played by Richard Kohnke, and the Banks Jets Coach played by C. Thomas Howell. (9/10)Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: No

Some may debate whether I'm spoiling Woodlawn with this review, but spoilers reveal plot twists, and this contains none of it. I can see why Woodlawn has garnered only a 6.3/10 for such an emotionally powerful film. Sean Astin plays the man who brings a sense of religion into the team, and it can rub a good number of people the wrong way. I'm not at all religious, but spiritual, and it's very personal for me. As the film developed the story, I resisted the urge to shut down, because I don't want to simply give up, but Woodlawn can make people feel really uncomfortable, because of the religion being played in moments throughout the film. I found myself almost rolling my eyes between tears. If this is what truly happened at Woodlawn HS, terrific. But I also get a feeling that the film was produced to react to the ongoing debate over how personal religion may bleed into someone else's comfort zone. Throughout Woodlawn, this fact kept in my consciousness, which was a little discomforting, and at the end of the film it tells viewers about upcoming rallies for Jesus. I'm telling you this because it's not spoiling Woodlawn, but revealing for those who either love Jesus and God, or for those who don't want to feel preached to, to consider watching something else. I was puzzled the way the film started because I had no idea about the religious back story embedded in Woodlawn. A coach on the west coast recently was called to task about similar actions, to that of the team coach in this movie. SCOTUS has been reviewing cases even now, and religion has become a hot button topic in the elections. Whatever you feel is your choice, but I don't care to let my guard down just so that I can feel somewhat emotionally and spiritually exploited, as I did by the time the credits rolled. It still is a powerful film, but the message of team and personal sacrifice and achievement was underscored by the recurring message of a higher power. I understand that the Jesus movement helped many during an era of national turmoil. As people spoke about what happened in the 1960s and early '70s, footage of actual interviews were shown, and the messages ring true in today's unrest. That message has told me that, even after decades have passed, maybe technology and music can change, but people tend to react now as they have decades and even centuries ago. The acting itself was top-notch. The story begins with some really heart wrenching accounts, and the characters piked up the ball, so to speak, and scored. All characters felt believable, the music and editing were fine, and I liked the cinematography, which was nice but not amazing. But one character - a student with a very large afro - didn't seem to make a final confrontation like I had expected he would. If it weren't for the heavier-than-expected religious insertions, I would have enjoyed it more.