Friday Night Lights   
 

Gary Gaines: Billy Bob Thornton

Mike Winchell: Lucas Black

Don Billingsley: Garrett Hedlund

Boobie Miles: Derek Luke

Brian Chavez: Jay Hernandez

Ivory Christian: Lee Jackson

Charles Billingsley: Tim McGraw

 

Directed by Peter Berg

Screenplay by David Aaron Cohen 

and Peter Berg

 

Based on the book by  

H.G. "Buzz" Bissinger
I have never been too impressed with football movies.  Some create ridiculous situations and turn the characters into mere caricatures, while others seem like they don't even try to get anything right.  All that has changed with Friday Night Lights, however.  Not only are the football scenes authentically realized (except for the last couple, but at that point you're so wrapped up in what's going on that the rare slip-up is forgivable), but more importantly, the people and the town come to life in this richly detailed story. 

Friday Night Lights is an adaptation of Buzz Bissinger's book chronicling the 1988 football season of the Odessa Permian Panthers, a storied high school football program in West Texas.  Permian, expected to go far in the playoffs, must overcome an injury to their star running back Boobie Miles early in the season to make a run at the state championship and fulfill the hopes and dreams of the Permian faithful. 

Director Peter Berg does a good job of demonstrating just how important high school football is to a small Texas town.  For those that don't know about Texas football, Odessa is not a one-school town (Odessa High has actually been around longer).  But for the purposes of the movie, it's practically presented as one, which helps establish the devotion that every person has for this football team.  Berg also uses radio talk shows in the background of many scenes to set the mood of the town and allude to the responsibility that is placed on Head Coach Gary Gaines' shoulders.

Billy Bob Thornton plays Coach Gaines and turns in another great performance.  He is able to uncannily disappear into each of his roles, and this one is no exception, as he gives Coach Gaines the humility, the competitiveness, and the emotion a head coach must possess.

The entire cast does a great job, as well.  Derek Luke as the cocky and talented running back Boobie Miles, Lucas Black as unassuming quarterback Mike Winchell, Jay Hernandez as the intelligent defensive star Brian Chavez, and special props to former Longhorn (and my wife Mercedes' friend) Lee Jackson as quiet defensive end Ivory Christian.

The best performance from the film comes from an unlikely place, though.  Country star Tim McGraw does an excellent job as Charles Billingsley, the father of fullback Don (Garrett Hedlund) and former Permian state championship team member.  He is an overbearing father, who is prone to drinking and fits of rage, but there's a subtle hint of sadness and love in his character and the relationship with his son plays out nicely.  It is a complex performance and McGraw deserves praise for the role.

Obviously, in the translation from page to screen, some things are lost.  The racism that existed throughout the town and played a major role in the book is only hinted at in a couple of places.  Actual events are moved around in time and some are changed entirely to increase the level of drama and fit everything that's important.   I can live with these changes.

Any good adaptation should make the viewer want to go check everything out in the story and find out new information that was missing from the movie anyway, and this film has succeeded on that level.  Furthermore, it has succeeded on the level of bringing to life what it is like to play high school football, and more specifically to play high school football in Texas.  An entire town can be your best friend one minute and then turn on you the next. 

There is more pressure placed on these kids as high school seniors than most will ever feel for the rest of their lives.  Some would argue that that isn't fair or right, but I don't think it's that simple.  As we see in Friday Night Lights, these kids grow up wanting one thing - to play high school football and win a championship.  Some go on to do great things once high school is over, and others are stuck in the same town constantly reliving their glory days.  But most would never trade what they were able to experience, and this movie captures that feeling perfectly.