Race (2016)

Review

135min

Genre:      Fact-based, Drama, Sport

Director:   Stephen Hopkins

Cast:        Stephan James, Jason Sudeikis, Jeremy Irons…and more

Writers:    Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse

-Synopsis-

Biographical drama about legendary Olympic athlete Jesse Owens’s struggles against the odds as a black man in deeply segregated America, striving for glory before the eyes of the world against the “master race” and the “Third Reich” propaganda machine at Berlin’s 1936 “Nazi games”.

The filmography of Anglo-Jamaican TV & Film director Stephen Hopkins (24, Predator 2) might not suggest a clear choice for someone to tackle a story with this much social and historical significance; but with ‘Race’ Hopkins had the daunting task of dramatically framing one of the most extraordinary sporting stories of the 20th century, and one which far transcends pure athletic achievement.

‘Race’ is not a “cradle-to-grave” biopic, instead this biographical drama focuses on a three year period in the life of iconic sprinter Jesse Owens, chronicling his college experiences and impressive athletic achievements at Ohio State University, under the tutelage of coach Larry Snyder. All leading up to him taking on the world and going for gold at the most notorious Olympic games in history.

Stephan James stars as Owens in a solid performance which humanizes an icon without threatening to dull the shine of a global hero, and he does a commendable job in re-creating Owens’s distinctive compact and upright running style. Jason Sudeikis also features in a competent and rare dramatic performance as Owens coach and confidant Larry Snyder.

Despite unsurprisingly taking plenty of liberties with historical accuracy; ‘Race’ paints an intriguing picture of racial segregation in early 20th century America which still resonates today, while drawing uncomfortable and inconvenient parallels to Hitler’s own state policies of racial oppression.

‘Race’  is not much of a character study and never really goes more than skin deep into the character of a man who broke down barriers and transcended his own turf to become one of the world’s first global sporting icons. The film is most captivating when depicting the clash between sport and politics, both in the USA and Germany, and the pressures put on Owens given the nature of the Berlin Olympics and its hosts.

Ultimately though, ‘Race’ is an unspectacular and safe period race drama which follows a familiar formula while slipping into exhausted tropes and failing to captivate or particularly move. Even the stylish production design can’t gloss over the TV Movie feel of a drama which doesn’t come close to being as interesting as the real story.

The Jesse Owens story deserves a captivating film; after all this was a black man in a segregated country, who defied the odds to become a global superstar by winning 4 gold medals at the most infamous Olympics ever, literally before the very eyes of the personification of racial hatred and evil.

But despite being intriguing and moderately entertaining, ‘Race’ is not the film to do the great man justice. It would probably be a documentary that does so, and ironically one with footage from Leni Riefenstahl’s ‘Olympia’, the documentary of the 1936 games from Hitler’s personal propagandist, depicted in ‘Race’ by Carice van Houten. The first ever feature film of the Olympics, from a talented and groundbreaking but notorious and controversial female director.

The Bottom Line…

In a case of the truth being stranger than fiction; ‘Race’ is an overly familiar and formulaic biographical melodrama which fails to capture the depth of character of its main subject while being cavalier with historical accuracy, but manages to be captivating thanks to an extraordinary true story in a fascinating historical context which will reverberate across generations.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Remember the Titans (2000)

Denzel Washington stars in a biographical drama based on the true story of a black American Football coach in the early 70s, who turns the divided local high school team into a racially integrated championship-winning unit.

Directed by Boaz Yakin and starring Denzel Washington, Will Patton and Wood Harris among others.

Comments

comments

Comments are closed.