Review: ‘The Express’

Travis:

If I were to call this one of the best football movies of all-time, I wouldn’t be doing it enough justice. A good football movie is thrilling, captivating its audience through the gridiron battles. A great football movie tells a story beyond the football movie, such as Brian’s Song or Remember the Titans. The world of sports in filled with firsts, and I’m not talking about athletic statistics. The Express, arguably THE best, tells the story of Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy, but whom also defied the odds with his team and his coach and led the Syracuse Orangemen into a new era of integrated sports. Ernie was inspired by Jackie Robinson and Jim Brown, choosing to make his voice heard through being the absolute best football running back he could be, regardless of how others saw him.

Rob Brown (Coach Carter) plays a convincing Ernie Davis, relatively quiet and reserved but still passionate about football and the struggles he and other African-Americans were enduring at the time. His modest confidence presents a demanding and extremely likable character that instantly wins the audience’s appeal. Dennis Quaid plays Ben Schwartzwalder, nailing his performance as the legendary coach with the tough exterior hiding a truly smart and decent man on the inside. This is possibly the best work Quaid has ever done and I would not be upset to find him on the nominees list for supporting actor, but I wouldn’t necessarily count on that. While his role in the film is cut short due to actual events, it’s a nice surprise to see Charles S. Dutton return to the big screen as Ernie’s grandfather. The cast works well together to present a story that is far more significant than just a sports movie. The Express does an excellent job of addressing the American issue of discrimination that we haven’t quite yet fully overcome, without dwelling on the topic and distracting from the movie’s overall enjoyment.

Aside from The Express being a very well-written script with a fine cast, the movie succeeds in another way… its a football movie that [actually] shows plenty of great football action. The game scenes are extremely well choreographed and the hits “feel” real. The film was shot with a wonderful color scheme and lighting which was clearly intended to take us back in time without losing the color altogether. The filmmakers chose a subtle but effective technique to slowly introduce Ernie’s biggest battle, a personal battle he may ultimately may not win. For those who are football fans, the story of Ernie Davis may not be a mystery, but I was pleased to overhear many audience members talking about the film afterwards who found themselves entertained and educated by this sad but proud, touching story of triumph and sacrifice for the greater good. The Express is a must-see movie, regardless of whether you’re a football fan.

[rating:4.5]

Ram Man:

(Contains spoilers)

This is the one I have been waiting for… The Express: The Story of Ernie Davis. Gary Fleder (Runaway Jury) directs this story of a virtually unknown American Icon. When people talk about the greatest players ever to play the game the names you hear Staubach, Elway, Payton, Rice, Montana and of course the great Jim Brown. The name you never hear, unless you are in Cleveland or New York, is Ernie Davis. Davis is quite possibly the best player ever to grace the gridiron. He is virtually unknown for the unfortunate fact he never played a down in the NFL.

Ernie Davis (Rob Brown) grew up in Uniontown, Pa.  raised by his grandparents while his Mom was out looking for work. Ernie moved to Elmira, New York with his Mom and step father at the age of 12 and that’s when he discovered football. Ernie was the halfback for the  Small Fry Sinclair Buicks. He was named and all star in the league two years in a row (52’&53′). Ernie played his high-school ball for Elmira Free Academy where he peeked the attention of numerous schools across the nation. One such school was Syracuse, the Orangemen from upstate New York. Coach Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid) had just lost his all-American running back Jim Brown to graduation and the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. Schwartzwalder was an innovator as a  football coach. He was the only coach to erect ropes on the practice field and have his teams climb them in full pads following practice. Schwartzwalder was also one of the few coaches that would recruit African-American players. It was the late 50’s and America was still suffering from racial stupidity. Unfortunately for Schwartzwalder, Notre Dame was also an open-minded college and they were first to discover Ernie. Coach Schwartzwalder had a secret weapon in his recruiting arsenal.. former graduate..Jim Brown. When Davis saw Jim Brown hit the field the deal was done and Ernie Davis was going to follow in the shoes of the great Jim Brown and attend Syracuse University.

Once at Syracuse, things changed for Ernie. The nice guy that recruited him turned into a military drill sargent , hell bent on winning a national title. Ernie also went from star to spectator his freshman year because of an NCAA rule that freshman can not play on a varsity team. Schwartzwalder having the foresight to sit him and have him watch and practice with the varsity team, Davis will be ready to hit the ground running the following season. That is exactly what he did..and he was running like a freight train. He help Syracuse blow through every team on the schedule in 1959 on the way to an undefeated season and a New Year day bowl game with the #2 Texas longhorns in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Texas is the epicenter of racial hatred in America during that time in our history. Ernie had to put up with all kinds of slurs and physical abuse from the mostly white opposing teams all year, but this is Texas. They received death threats and forced Davis and the other black players to stay in a flee-bag hotel instead of the luxury accomodations the rest of the team enjoyed. This didn’t bother Ernie, he was going to show everyone..he was going to play in the game and win a National Championship for Syracuse.

Still one of the most dirtiest games on the books, the 1959 Cotton Bowl was a peek into how ugly things could be. Davis would be tackled and then beat on and kicked for minutes following the play. Once the officials stepped in and threw a flag. I thought to myself finally, only to have the official penalize Syracuse for holding. This continued until halftime when the volcano finally erupted in a full bench clearing brawl. (there is actual footage from the fight shown in the closing credits of the film) Coach Schwartzwalder warned the officials it was going to get out of control, and to be safe he rested Ernie in the second half with a 15-0 lead and the game in hand. He thought. After two turnovers in the third quarter, Texas drew within a point of the lead at 15-14. To start the fourth quarter Davis returned to the sideline and in one of the most moving parts of the film explained why he was going back in..for the fans. Davis played the fourth quarter, and caught a play action pass for an  87 yard touchdown that remains a Cotton Bowl record to this day.   Davis went on to win the MVP of the 1959 Cotton Bowl. Following his senior season at Syracuse, Ernie Davis was awarded the Heisman Trophy for the best College football player in America. He was the first African American and the first ever player from Syracuse University to hold that honor. Davis was set to go with the first pick in the upcoming NFL Draft (no other black player had done that before)  to the Washington Redskins. The Redskins traded the pick to Art Modell and the Cleveland Browns, not wanting to have an African American on the team. Ernie Davis was reunited with Jim Brown once again. As I said earlier, Ernie is virtually unknown because he never played a down in the NFL. Shortly before the start of the 1962 season Ernie was diagnosed with Leukemia. The only time he was on the field in Cleveland was to take a bow and retire. Ernie Davis died the following year at the age of 23.

I can only imagine what the NFL Hall of Fame would look like today if Ernie Davis had been allowed to play in the same backfield as Jim Brown. There is no telling how many Superbowls they would have won. I guarantee there wouldn’t be a Baltimore Ravens because the Browns would have never left. I recently visited Cleveland for a game (Rams beat the Browns!) and saw the plaque dedicated to Ernie Davis outside the stadium right next to his hero Jim Brown. I am a football fan. I am also a movie geek. To say this film is the best sports movie would only diminish the greatness that “The Express” is. This is the best FILM THIS YEAR. It just happens to be about football and an American icon in the sport. The Express not only has Oscar worthy performances by Brown and Quaid, it also has exception supporting roles by Charles S. Dutton (Rudy) and newcomer Omar Benson Miller (Miracle at St. Anna). Everyone should go see this film. The Rams, Bengals, Texans and Lions should see this film to remember what it is like to play with heart on the gridiron.

[rating:5/5]