DEPTH: 4ACTING: 5PLOT: 5ORIGINALITY: 5ENTERTAINMENT: 5PRODUCTION: 5DEMAND ON VIEWER: MildOVERALL: Recommended
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Ostensibly about football, this film ended up being just as much or more about dance. It rallied around team sports and family, but also around artistic expression as a way of healing and finding oneself.
Jennifer Lawrence ran away with this film. Her magic carries the story along, and while there were four oscar nominations, I think she was the clear winner.
The acting ensemble including DeNiro was remarkable, and it helped create a real father-son dynamic. It also helps the film reach across generations. I found myself wanting to write a letter to my father, and I did so after coming home from this film.
I was engrossed in the moments created by the film, the specific-ness, the quirkiness of the family lingo, the strange personality traits that somehow go from annoying to lovable.The real questions in this film were about how we interpret ourselves, and Tiffany (Lawrence) helps lead the way in asking, What about all that muddy, slutty, bad stuff? Do we deny that about ourselves, or do we learn to embrace it? Can we stick together no matter what?
DEEPER RESPONSE: What do you think of the dance element in the film? How is that important as a therapeutic method, where others may not have worked?
