The Express

Starring

Dennis Quaid, Rob Brown

During the past ten years, a movie subgenre has emerged that combines the elements of the classic American sports drama and the racial prejudices faced by African-Americans during the Civil Rights movement. Notable entries in this genre include several Disney sports films, notably the contemporary classic Remember the Titans, starring Denzel Washington as the coach of an integrated high-school football team in the 1970s; and Glory Road, the story of the first fully African-American basketball team to win a national championship.

 The Express, director Gary Fleder’s new film about Ernie Davis, the first African-American football player to win the coveted Heisman Trophy, is not a Disney film, but it very well could be; the underlying racial subject matter, while sometimes intense, is presented in a manner that is suitable for nearly all age groups.

 Rob Brown stars as Davis, a high-school football star in the 1960s inspired by African-American college football sensation Jim Brown (Darrin Dewitt Henson) of the Syracuse Orangemen. Brown was heavily considered to have deserved the Heisman Trophy for his performance in football, but was ultimately denied the award, most likely due to racial prejudice. When Syracuse football coach Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid) sees Davis’ extraordinary skills on the football field, he decides Davis is the man to fill the large shoes of Brown. The film follows Davis through his challenges with both football and racism while playing for Syracuse, resulting in a climatic Cotton Bowl National Championship between the Orangemen and the Texas Longhorns (who aren’t exactly presented as the most friendly supporters of the Civil Rights movement).

 What separates The Express from other inspirational football movies is that the film does not end with the high-stakes game and Davis winning the Heisman Trophy; rather, we follow Davis through his post-college football career and his fatal bout with leukemia. And as much as The Express has been marketed as The Ernie Davis Story, the film is equally about Schwartzwalder, a rough-edged football coach who experiences perhaps the most significant character change in the movie. Quaid gives his best performance in years – his recent film work has been spotty (Vantage Point, Flight of the Phoenix), but as Schwartzwalder, he is simultaneously sympathetic and incorrigible. Brown, who was great as the lead in Gus Van Sant’s Finding Forrester, is very effective as the heroic Davis.

 Although The Express follows many of the tired conventions of the inspirational sports movie (including stock characters, corny dialogue, and a melodramatic musical score) and stumbles along in its uneven first hour, the film ultimately tells a compelling story that deserves to be heard. The Express will certainly please football fans looking for gridiron action onscreen, but I think most people will be moved by the heart of the movie, which lies in the stirring friendship between Davis and Schwartzwalder.

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