Remember the Titans - Always!

After finally getting around to watching this movie, I'm just disappointed that I didn't see it before now. 

Remember the Titans is a movie based on the true story of a Virginia football team that is forced to integrate in 1971. For me personally, this movie was a shock. Growing up in New York, our neighborhood became integrated round about 1974, and though we had our share of trouble, none of it was on the scale of what was depicted in this movie. Sure, some of it might have been built up to tell the story, but even if half of the reactions to the integration of the school and football team are true, it was still a reality check that this was still going on to this degree in 1971. 

Due to the integration of the school - and the football team - Herman Boone (portrayed by Denzel Washington) is named as the head coach of the Titans at T.C. Williams High School. This head coach job comes at the expense of the previous Coach, Bill Yost (portrayed by Will Patton). 

Much has been made of Denzel Washington's performance in this movie, but I think Patton's portrayal of Coach Yost is truly a shining moment - and the greatest performance in this actor's career so far. Patton is best known for supporting roles in the movies Armageddon, Gone is Sixty Seconds, and Entrapment. InRemember the Titans, we get to see the full scope of this actor's talent. He conveys the conflict within Yost with great subtlety, yet we know it's there. 

Coach Yost is greatly at odds with Coach Boone's style. He does not want to be in this position - which is essentially a demotion for him - but remains because otherwise the white players will refuse to play. He is putting what is best for his players above his own personal gains, and does this several times throughout the film. Coach Yost is a man caught in turbulent times. His strong feelings of right and wrong may cost him in the end, but he is a man of conscience. 

That is not to diminish Denzel Washington's performance in the least. However, Coach Boone has a job to do and a need to prove himself. If the story is true in that Coach Boone would have been fired had the Titans lost a single game that first season, it is all the more a credit to the character that Boone does not break down and confess this fact to Coach Yost at any time during the season. That was the one moment I was waiting for: the buddy-bonding moment between the two coaches when Boone confesses his predicament to Yost. It never came, and I actually think the film was better for it. 

The changes in the attitudes of the players very well done, and not rushed along for the sake of the story. Neither the black players nor the white players wish to associate with each other in the beginning. Coach Boone goes to extravagant lengths to force them to know one another. This is helped along by the fact that two white players from other areas of the country join the team - one from New Jersey and the other from California - where the attitudes are not quite as separatist as in Virginia. 

The movie had opened with a funeral. At the time, I was sure I knew who's funeral it was. At the end I was shocked. It is a somewhat sad ending to the film, but at the same time the entire movie is very uplifting. For if this team could accomplish the impossible in such a short time, then there is hope for the rest of the world. 

I watched this movie on DVD. It does not seem to be available for purchase until January of 2002. I rented it through Netflix. The extras which come with the DVD are well worth it. There are interviews with the real-life coaches as well as the usual "making of" documentaries and deleted scenes. I found the interviews to be the most interesting, seeing the actual people involved talk about the events and the film. 

The only drawback I have to the entire film was the actual brutality involved in football itself. There are two scenes in particular that bothered me. One is where Coach Boone refuses to allow the players to get water during practice. In light of recent instances of players collapsing - and dying - after becoming dehydrated during practice, this is particularly disturbing. In another scene, Coach Boone talks about football being a way to control anger and harness aggression in these boys, and my thoughts drifted to OJ Simpson. Football is a brutal sport, and this film leaves little doubt about how much brutality is involved. 

In January, I can guarantee this will be added to our collection. This is a great way for a generation to learn about what life was like when "separate but equal" ruled the land. 

The Siege - Terrorism in NYC Before 9/11

This was one of those films I never thought I was going to see.  The first few times I was exposed to The Siege, I always saw part of it and never the whole thing.  After September 11th, with my husband being a New York City bus operator, certain scenes hit too close to home and it was relegated to films I'd wish I'd seen.  With nine years gone and no longer living in the metropolitan New York area, I thought perhaps I would be able to finally seeThe Siege in its entirety.

U.S. operatives abduct a bin Laden-like Sheik and religious leader believe to be responsible for recent bombings of U.S. forces in the Middle East. As his sympathizers retalliate inside the U.S. the results are devastating.  What's even more devastating is the heavy-handed reaction by agents of our own government.

Denzel Washington is FBI Agent Anthony Hubbard based out of New York City.  He encounters CIA Operative Elise Kraft (portrayed by Annette Bening) while trying to flush out a potential terrorist cell operating out of Brooklyn.  Fate has them together when terrorists take control of a New York City bus and blow it up for the cameras.

Hubbard and his men believe they have tracked down the men responsible when there is another bombing in a packed theatre.  New York City seems to be under siege as people are afraid to go out of their homes.  When the FBI itself is attacked, the President declares Martial Law and the Army marches into New York.

I could say a lot of this was prophetic, especially how Hubbard reacts to the use of torture as a means to get information.  Thankfully, New York and the country did not descend to these depths after 9/11 although there were some people who responded quite similarly.  They didn't care about people being snatched off the street, as long as it wasn't happening to them.  The same is true here.  I think watching this film in 1998 when it was first released and watching it after 9/11 are two entirely different experiences.  I’d also dare say that if you watched it within the first year after 9/11 and lived in the New York City metropolitan area or Washington DC you would have a different experience.   The story moves along quite well.  At the time The Siege was made, it might have seemed sensationalized and hard to believe, I would dare say now it’s less so.  It moves quite fluidly between the attacks and the catching those responsible and the public reaction; something that could have ended up disjointed.  It doesn’t feel like there are two different stories going on which is the fear when working with a story like this.

The acting here is first-rate and I do mean that.  Tony Shalhoub is excellent here in a different role for him as an Arab-American FBI agent, Frank Haddad.  I’m used to seeing him as a comedic character but he handles the serious roles quite well.  Denzel is, well, Denzel.  I have yet to see him disappoint and here he is compelling as he tries to do his job against the backdrop of what’s happening as well as his conflicted conscience.  Willis is rather one-dimensional but he does it well.  Bening is perhaps the most uneven but that works well for her character and what she’s immersed in. 

If you’re like me and you’ve avoided this film, I understand why and don’t blame you.  At the least try the first few minutes and see if you can handle it.  It took me nine years to be able to see it, and it’s well worth viewing.