Race

Screen Writers Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse created a script that director Stephen Hopkins uses to give the audience a solid, well-crafted film. There is nothing in the craft of this film that is spectacular, but nothing is anywhere near sub-par. It is what one has come to expect from experienced, professional filmmakers. The audience is allowed to absorb the story without extraneous technical shenanigans.
Jesse Owns, a young black athlete with an uncanny ability to outpace the competition on the track and in the broad jump, is about see his dream come true when he qualifies for the 1936 Olympics.
Yeah, 1936. Hitler’s in power and the Olympics take place in Berlin. Caught up in the politics and high drama of the era, the US Olympic committee is caught between boycotting the games to protest fascism or to hold their noses so the dreams of the American athletes to compete can come true.
African American Jesse receives strong advice from both sides. The NAACP begs him not to compete. His Ohio State coach reminds him he is an athlete and encourages him to ignore all the noise that detracts from competing and winning.
Obviously, Jesse competes. But the story the writers and director tell is bitter sweet. We thrill with Jesse’s spectacular finish. With his ability to focus so intently on his goal. To block out the meanness and nastiness.
But what remains afterwards is a bitter aftertaste from all that he had to endure to get to the Olympics. It asks the uneasy question - what of that still remains embedded under the surface in our culture?
The existential question the film ultimately raises is how implicated am I in the remaining vestiges of racism and what am I doing about it?
It’s a 3.5 out of five for me.