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Friday Night Lights

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Friday Night Lights (2004)

October. 08,2004
|
7.2
|
PG-13
| Drama
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A small, turbulent town in Texas obsesses over their high school football team to an unhealthy degree. When the star tailback, Boobie Miles, is seriously injured during the first game of the season, all hope is lost, and the town's dormant social problems begin to flare up. It is left to the inspiring abilities of new coach Gary Gaines to instill in the other team members -- and, by proxy, the town itself -- a sense of self-respect and honor.

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Alicia
2004/10/08

I love this movie so much

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VeteranLight
2004/10/09

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

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StyleSk8r
2004/10/10

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

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Bob
2004/10/11

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

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eric262003
2004/10/12

Set in Odessa, Texas in the year 1988, "Friday Night Lights" centres around a town in Texas who's thriving to make it into the state finals. But the issues go way beyond the gridiron, as players are faced with personal issues as we cross-examine them through the benefits of sports and the triumphs and setbacks that comes with the package while the whole town wants this team to win like their lives are depending on them.This is not the cliched underdog story with the selected team we're forced to root for to go all the way. The big rewards are the events that led to the team winning which is more reflective in storytelling and feels more refreshing in its premise. There are moments that are melancholy and humane, intense and surreal, hopeless and triumphant. Sure this film seems to be the perfect companion for sports lovers, but if you're not fanatical about sports, there's plenty more to like about this film. The human issues depicted in this movie has equally poignant moments than compared to the action on the football field.Under the direction of Peter Berg who co-starred with Linda Fiorentino in "The Last Seduction", utilizes his power to tell an intriguing story while pulling no punches about it. Sure the settings of this film is in the late 1980's, you wouldn't really know the difference with its modern outlook. The cuts are quick-paced, the hand-held shots are quick-tempered, but it works effectively due to the point of view that comes behind it all. Berg wants us to a part of his world contrary to the ones we live in. His concentration is not about the actual game but the dramatic scenes that lead prior to the climactic game like it was a memory we can reminisce to our grandchildren when we get older.While filmed on stock angles, the film truly feels just like a flashback. The period details are enough to this film a more storied effect in its presentation making this archaic technique all the more sufficient. The film does succeed giving the background that 1980's vibe with costumes, clothing and props that were prominent to the time period this film is set in. A firm example is that the female costars are sporting the typical big thick haired pompadour that was apropos for the 1980's.Billy Bob Thornton adds to the authenticity as a sports a look that is similar to that of a young Jimmy Swaggert as Coach Gary Gaines who combines the willfulness to win while playing an important role in his young player's lives. He can really turn the role of his personality as he can be volatile in one moment and then compassionate in another.Coach Gaines has a lot on his mind as he's placed in a disposition of very talented players, but are still green, but he hopes to change that with their need for speed. One of the prominent characters on the gridiron is a young man named Boobie Miles (Derek Luke), a arrogant player who plans to make it big. Those plans come in question when an injury sidelines him. Boobie now has to think from the outside while looking on while sitting out while seeking other options in life outside of football.Though Berg and screenwriters Buzz Bissinger snd David Aaron Cohen lures into caring about which team is going to win, does not mean the characters themselves feel the same way. Therefore, we get the better understanding of how obsessive the town is in its dependence not how the team is playing, just as long as they win the state championship. Every other time, the life in that town is one long, cynical slog, but the championship season, the town lights up brighter than the neon lights of Sin City. The stress factor is on these kids as they strive to make these memories all the more worthwhile while trying to appease to the drab, unmotivated adults which lacks in any healthy relations.Tim McGraw who plays Billingsley, an abusive father to one of the players gives an unhealthy reprimand to his son that this game will mean more to him than anything he's ever going to achieve in life. Granted he's right sine like so many others in that town who's one-track-mind fixation is all that's coming to them. The execution to that frame in mind is handled brilliantly. When Gaines drives home after being ostracized over the radio, he's confronted by two local townspeople threatening his job if his team doesn't win. Gee no rest for the weary?Even though as adults they'll remember this event as long as they live, the kids they were back then were left feeling miserable, frustrated and stressed out not from the coach or their regiment or even, let alone the game, but by the townsfolk who forced them to excel, not through their hard work, but by their own personal pride. The tension is bestowed upon Lucas Black's performance as the star quarterback and Garrett Hedlund shines as the young Billingsley. Although masked as a football film, the drama of this story is about a football team drafted into a metaphorical war zone obsessed by the neurotic pleasures of the citizens of Odessa, Texas.

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guszak
2004/10/13

No shock that when Bissinger's incredible book of the same name came out, residents of Odessa were none too pleased with what they read. It painted Odessa as a very backwards and overtly racist town. Countless examples and incidents revealed a Texas town still stuck in the Jim Crow days of years passed, inspired only by high school football victories. High school football was the main theme of the book, but the racism found in the community was right there with it. Enter Peter Berg, who wished to make a film about high school football, in particular, he wants to make this book into a movie. The community of Odessa made it clear, no way. Berg would not be allowed to use Permian images or Permian facilities. Berg pleads with the Odessa district to let him make the film, he pledges that he will remove all of the racist elements in the book that made Odessa look bad. In fact, Berg went one step further, he decided he would deal with the prejudice angle, by using African Americans as the example of the bigotry. The black coaches of the all-black Dallas Carter team that faces Permian in the championship game complain bitterly about the initial lack of black referees, implying they want to stack the deck for the black team. During the game, the black refs wink and smile at the black players as they taunt, cheap shot, showboat and play dirty. A black referee blatantly cheats on a call in favor of Dallas Carter. It is incredible! This is when you realize, this horrible excuse for a movie had nothing to do with the actual book it was based. It is very difficult for me to tell anyone that they should watch a movie, when the story being told, completely distorts the truth of what that film was supposedly based on.

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gabby (cursedmagic713)
2004/10/14

It's tough to compete against movies in a similar genre (Rudy, Varsity Blues, Remember the Titans, Any Given Sunday, etc), however I strongly believe that this movie is set apart from some of it's predecessors.In a time where cities and towns alike view high school football as a religion, the story revolves mainly on 5 football players and their coach. Peter Berg depicts the story, based on the book by H.G Bissinger, of the high school football 1988 season of the Odessa, Texas Panthers. The underlying focus is undeniable: a constant pressure from an entire town to be the best at any cost; whatever it takes. But at what price? Berg paints his beautifully cinematic vision of the triumphs, downfalls and a memorable ending that has you cheering for the Permian Panthers and swaying in empathy to the pulsing guitar riffs of Explosions in the Sky.To my surprise it had every level of greatness: from a stellar break out cast- marking the beginning of Tim McGraw's and Garrett Hedlund's acting career. To a very favorable and impassioned speech by "Preacher" (Lee Jordan). Preacher, whose quiet demeanor is set ablaze in an effort to push his teammates onward. An excellent sound track (courtesy of Explosions in the Sky) that gives every scene an emotion, further than one could expect, where the you can see McGraw's character flourish as he strives with his inner demons to find a balance between teaching his son "how to be a man" but realizing he found his own way through the season. Most importantly it has a very compelling story line; it's not your "typical -happy-ending-for-the-team" movie. And that is indeed why I love it so much - you feel for the character's lives and how much they are affected by their decisions, each gaining something or suffering a loss.Lastly my two cents: every coach should take note; even though they attempt to sweep it under the rug, do not revolve every play after one player. The outcome may not be worth it.As someone who isn't too fond of football, but plays rugby- I can truthfully admit from the first time I saw this movie, I was hooked. For a sports movie, it has everything I look for in a great film.In short: a film to be crowned a classic sports movie.

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hall895
2004/10/15

They like high school football in West Texas. That previous sentence would have a good chance of winning a competition to determine the biggest understatement in the history of the world. The truth is that in West Texas high school football is an obsession. You watch Friday Night Lights and you see the passion. But passion can go too far. The pressure the adults put on a group of teenage boys is ridiculous. The self-worth of a town is determined by the results of high school football games. Adults live vicariously through the team, trying to relive past glories. Or bask in reflected glory since they never actually had any glory of their own. In the midst of all this stands a coach who has to mold his boys into men while also managing to satisfy the town's bloodlust for victory. And there are the boys themselves, they all have their own hopes and dreams, many of which have nothing to do with football. The players are constantly told that playing high school football will be the greatest thing they do in their lives. How sad it will be if that is true.Coach Gary Gaines, played by Billy Bob Thornton, is the central character in the film. Gaines is a man put under tremendous pressure and he handles it about as well as you could possibly hope he would. He understands that the town's obsession with his team is unhealthy at best, dangerous at worst. But make no mistake, the coach wants to win. And he's got the team to do it. Until he loses his star player to injury in the first game. Can he rally his team in the face of adversity? The movie follows the team on its roller-coaster ride of a season, big ups and downs all along the way. There's some drama, some excitement, and maybe even a little room for growth for some characters who may come to realize there is in fact more to life than high school football.Thornton gives a very strong performance in the starring role. And Tim McGraw is a revelation as the alcoholic, emotionally abusive father of one of the players. While Thornton and McGraw are excellent and create a couple of memorable characters the movie doesn't do as good a job as you would hope in establishing the personalities and stories of the players. The cocky, headstrong star running back has some pizazz to him but injury cuts him down. The film has some good emotional moments with him as he struggles to accept his fate. But when the story turns its attention to the other players things fall somewhat flat. The quarterback is quite bland. Most of the other players remain total mysteries, not established well enough at all for us to really care much about them or their fates. There is the one player, the son of the McGraw character, who has his moments but that story is much more about the dad than the son. It's odd but in this story of a high school football team it is the team itself, the players, who get short shrift. It all makes for an interesting movie but it doesn't pack the emotional wallop of some other movies of its type. There's some decent drama but nothing that really has you on the edge of your seat. This look at a team and its town has some good pieces but it never quite all comes together. In reaching for the goal line maybe this movie comes up just a yard or two short.

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