Written and directed by James C. Strouse, The Winning Season is the story of a down-on-his-luck ex-high school basketball star who is asked by an old friend to coach a girl’s basketball team as he help them in and out of the court. It’s a film that follows a man who is in need to redeem himself as well as help some girls going through growing pains. Starring Sam Rockwell, Emma Roberts, Rooney Mara, Shareeka Epps, Emily Rios, Meaghan Witri, Melanie Hinkle, Margo Martindale, and Rob Corddry. The Winning Season is a delightful and charming film from James C. Strouse.
Set in a small town in Indiana, the film is a simple story of an alcoholic busboy who is asked by an old high school friend who is now principal in coaching the girl’s varsity basketball team. For Bill (Sam Rockwell), the chance to do something other than drown in sorrows in alcohol as well as cope with being estranged from his own daughter is something he needs. Yet, James C. Strouse’s script doesn’t exactly play by convention as Bill is someone that is reluctant to do the job as the team of girls he has aren’t that good with one of them sporting an injured foot. Still, they want to play as Bill is aware that they have the heart but need a lot of work as it gives him the chance to do something good. Even as he’s become estranged from his own daughter who wants nothing to do with him as she also plays basketball for another school. While Strouse does play into a formula of sorts of turning a team of misfits into a winning team. He plays with it a bit as he focus on the girls themselves as they go through growing pains that is expected as a teenager as Bill helps them out with additional help from his new assistant coach in Donna (Margo Martindale).
Strouse’s direction is quite simple as it play into this life of a deadbeat loser who is given a chance to make something of himself again. Though it’s largely shot in upstate New York during the winter, the film does play into a look that is quite drab and low-key as it relates to the world that Bill is in as someone who feels sorry for himself constantly and is unable to do things right for his daughter. While Strouse uses some wide shots to establish some of the locations as well as in some of the basketball game scenes. Strouse’s usage of the medium shots and close-up would give the film an intimacy as it relates to the characters and their own situations. Especially as there is an equal amount of tension to the girls as they are enduring some of the awkwardness of being a teenager as well as other personal things. Yet, Strouse does keep things light so that the drama doesn’t overwhelm things as much of the humor feels natural as it would play in the third act where Bill does whatever he can to help his team from afar as it would also be a major moment in his journey for redemption. Overall, Strouse creates an engaging and heartfelt film about a former high school basketball star coaching a girl’s varsity team and make them be winners.
Cinematographer Frank G. DeMarco does excellent work with the film‘s low-key cinematography as it emphasizes more on a drab look with low-key lighting to play into Bill‘s state of mind only to become more colorful later on once he starts to care about what he does and do right for himself. Editor Joe Klotz does nice work with the editing as it is mostly straightforward to play into the humor and some of the drama. Production designer Stephen Beatrice, with set decorator Cristina Casanas and art director Matthew Munn, does fantastic work with the look of Bill‘s apartment home as well as the high school gym where he and the girls do practices.
Costume designer Victoria Farrell does terrific work with the costumes from the design of the school uniforms as well as the design of the school mascots. Sound designers Rusty Dunn and Lewis Goldstein do superb work with the sound as it play into the way music is presented in some scenes as well as the raucous atmosphere of the basketball games. The film’s music by Edward Shearmur does wonderful work with the music as its mixture of jazz and rock help play into some of the film‘s humor and melancholia while music supervisor Tracy McKnight creates a fun soundtrack that is a mix of music from acts like Ben Lee, Patti LaBelle, Hamilton, Joe Frank, & Reynolds, and other acts in the world of hip-hop and pop.
The casting by Kerry Barden and Paul Schnee is brilliant as it feature some notable small roles from Kevin Breznahan as an adult boyfriend of Wendy, Jessica Hecht as Bill’s ex-wife Stacey, Connor Paolo as a varsity basketball player named Damon whom Abbie is fond of, Vanessa Gordillo as a new member of the basketball team in Flor, and Shana Dowdeswell as Bill’s daughter Molly whom he’s been estranged by as she despises him for being a loser. Rob Corddry is terrific as the school principal Terry who is an old friend of Bill that offers him the job as he has a daughter in the team. Margo Martindale is fantastic as Donna as a team bus driver who reluctantly helps Bill as an assistant coach despite her lack of knowledge in basketball as she would prove to be an asset in helping the girls with their growing pains. Melanie Hinkle is superb as Mindy as the team’s injured player who helps film many of the games as well as provide some ideas of what the team could do. Meaghan Witri is wonderful as Tamra as Terry’s daughter who is coping with her own sexual identity as she turns to Donna for advice.
Emily Rios is excellent as Kathy as a new student who is a good shooter but faces some prejudice as some opposing players would call her some racial slurs. Shareeka Epps is amazing as Lisa as a player who isn’t fond of Kathy at first until she stands up for her as well as become a less selfish player. Rooney Mara is remarkable as Wendy as Mindy’s sister who has an affair with an older man despite the fact that she’s underage as she copes with wanting to be more grown up as she is still young. Emma Roberts is marvelous as Abbie as the teenage girl who would coax Bill to do something as she also deals with first love where it’s a very realistic and charming performance from Roberts. Finally, there’s Sam Rockwell in an incredible performance as Bill as once-great high school basketball star who has become a deadbeat alcoholic as he copes with his failures until he is given the chance to coach a girl’s team as he finally finds meaning in his life again.
The Winning Season is an excellent film from James C. Strouse. Featuring a great cast led by Sam Rockwell as well as a witty yet heartfelt script and playing with the conventions of sports films. It’s a film that offers something with some substance while not being afraid to follow the formula as well as present characters that are quite real. In the end, The Winning Season is an amazing film from James C. Strouse.
© thevoid99 2016
Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 2/17/07 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.
Directed by Ryan Fleck and written by Fleck and Anna Boden, Half Nelson tells the story of a young school teacher in the inner city who forms a friendship with one of his students who has discovered his drug addiction. Taking another relationship drama to a different level, it's a film that explores a young man's chance to try to save a young girl while dealing with his own demons. Starring Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie, Karen Chilton, Jay O. Sanders, and Shareeka Epps. Half Nelson is a haunting yet mesmerizing film from Ryan Fleck.
By day, Daniel Dunne (Ryan Gosling) is a young, middle school history teacher in an inner-city school where he's also the girls' basketball coach. Dunne's unorthodox yet edgy approaching to teaching history has won him over the praise of his students. Dunne's approach into teaching them history by having something they can relate to hasn't fared well with the school's principal despite the fact that it's worked. While his girl's team aren’t the best players, he does try and give them encouragement to get better. After school, Dunne goes to bars flirting with women and continuing on his troubling addiction to drugs such as cocaine and crack. Already, his life becomes out of control when he is caught in a bathroom dazed by one of his students named Drey (Shareeka Epps).
Drey is a young 13-year old student who lives at home while her mother Karen (Karen Chilton) works late as an EMT barely making by. The only help Drey gets in making money is through a drug dealer named Frank (Anthony Mackie) who owes her a favor after her brother Mike (Collins Pennie) is in juvenile hall. Dunne suddenly learns that his ex-girlfriend Rachel (Tina Holmes) is getting married while he starts to feel lonely and finds a kindred spirit in Drey. Drey knows his secret and keeps it that way while he takes her home since her father doesn't pick her up. Dunne is amazed by Drey's strength though she admits that her mother not being home all the time has made it tough. Dunne meanwhile, still revels into his own world of drugs as he is forced to face his own demons.
One day when taking Drey home, he takes her to his apartment where they have conversations about his work and his unconventional teaching approach. Helping him make dinner for a date with another teacher named Isabel (Monique Curnen), Drey is amazed at the kind of person Dunne is despite his troubles. While the weekend turned out to be good for Dunn and Drey in their own separate worlds, Dunne's demons get the best of him as he is troubled by a lot of things. The drugs and his weariness begin to affect his teaching and he starts to alienate everyone. When he sees Frank with Drey, Dunne decides to confront him about what he's doing to her. Unfortunately, Dunne's efforts is only troubled when his addiction worsens. During a night with his parents (Jay O. Sanders and Deborah Rush), his brother (Denis O'Hare) and his brother's girlfriend Cindy (Nicole Vicius), Dunne is forced to see his downward spiral while pondering Drey's own future.
While the film doesn't say anything new about drugs or addiction, the story of a young teacher trying to help a young girl escape into her own environment is a compelling one. Ryan Fleck and co-writer Anna Boden create a story that is gritty and very mesmerizing into how a man seeks redemption through a young girl while dealing with his demons. The film's story is simple enough though it's told in two different perspectives in both Daniel Dunne and Drey. While Dunne's world is often filled with a repetitive outlook of going to school on the day and party and do drugs at night. He makes a break for it in trying to help Drey. Drey's own world is just as tough since her mother isn't around much while the only adult that watches out for her is Frank. Though Frank isn't a total villain of sorts, he does watch out for Drey though his own intentions aren't what's best for her. The script is very drawn out by character while Fleck's subtle, observant, and very raw directing style works in conveying the atmosphere and drama that surrounds the situations and moments in the film. Overall, it's a very strong effort from Fleck.
Cinematographer Andrij Parekh is wonderfully exquisite in its realism while many of the exterior shots are haunting and almost dreamlike to convey the spiraling emotions of Dunn. Anna Boden's editing is also excellent for its straightforward manner and non-stylized cuts to draw the sense of emotion and intensity of the performances from the actors. Production designer Beth Mickle and art director Inbal Weinberg do fine work in taking the location of Brooklyn to reveal the location's gritty look but also a realistic feel to the apartment of Drey to the dilapidated look of Dunne's apartment. Costume designer Erin Benach adds to the grittiness with shabby shirts and ties that Dunne wears to the street clothes that the kids wear as well. Sound editor John Moros also adds to the tense atmosphere of the film to the alarm clock that Dunne wakes up on to the basketballs bouncing on the gym. The film's music features cuts from the Marshall Tucker Band, Lisa Vaughn and a few hip-hop artists while the rest of the music features a haunting score from the band Broken Social Scene filled with atmospheric, melodic guitar tracks.
The film's cast is wonderfully assembled with some memorable small performances from veteran actors Jay O. Sanders and Deborah Rush as Dan's parents, Denis O'’Hare as his brother, and Nicole Vicius in a funny scene as his brother's girlfriend. Other noted small roles from Collins Pennie, Monique Curnen, and Bryce Silver as fellow teacher Bernard plus a group of young actors like Tristan Wilds, Stephanie Bast, and Nathan Corbett as the students are equally memorable. Tina Holmes is excellent as Dan's ex-girlfriend Rachel while Karen Chilton is wonderful as Dre's hard-working, caring mother. Anthony Mackie gives a chilling yet superb performance as the small-time drug dealer Frank. Mackie brings a charm and danger to his role where he can be caring and do good things yet he runs a business and is doing some bad things so there's a complexity to Mackie's character and the performance is wonderfully balanced. Shareeka Epps is wonderfully amazing as the tough but confused Drey who has an understanding of what the adults around her are doing. Epps brings a strength and fragility that is haunting to watch as this young woman truly gives one of 2006's great performances.
Finally, there's Ryan Gosling in what has to be the performance of his career. Gosling has been known to display charm, a wit, and eccentricity. In this film, he strips it all down to bring a raw, restrained performance as Daniel Dunne. Gosling's sense of minimalism and observance shows the troubles of a man spiraling out of control while in the moment he acts charming only show a fragility to him that is underneath it. There's moments in the performance where his eyes does the acting for him and it's real proof that Gosling is the real thing. There's a lot of sadness and desperation in those eyes while the scenes he has with Epps feel real in how he tries to redeem himself. In roles where he played trouble youths and charming young men, Ryan Gosling proves himself to be one of the most brilliant actors of his generation.
Half Nelson is a phenomenal film from Ryan Fleck and co-writer Anna Boden that features a tremendous performance from Ryan Gosling. Along with strong supporting performances from Shareeka Epps and Anthony Mackie, it's a film that explores the world of a man troubled by addiction and his desire for redemption. In the end, Half Nelson is a remarkable film from Ryan Fleck.
Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden Films: Sugar (2008 film) - It's Kind of a Funny Story - Mississippi Grind - Captain Marvel - The Auteurs #71: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
© thevoid99 2014
