Playing the game right

Friday Night Lights

Director: Peter Berg

Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Derek Luke, Garrett Hedlund

Cert: 12

Sport hasn't always been treated well by Hollywood, with a few honourable exceptions. Now we can add this excellent film to the list of sporting gems.

Based on a book which traced the rise of the football team of a small, depressed Texas town as it battled for the State Championship, this is one of the most enjoyable and honest sporting films made for years.

The Permian Panthers are the team concerned, though the film is by no means purely about over-padded jocks clashing on the grid-iron field; it's about hopes and ambitions and expectations. And within the story we find all the usual suspects: the pushy parents, the confident star, the anxious coach (brilliantly played by Thornton, as a man who knows it's just a game but who also knows what success could do for the town and what failure could do to his career).

It's about getting one shot at the golden ring - "After football, it's just babies and memories," is a memorable line from a memorable film - and how grasping that ring can lead to escape from the town.

There is, of course, plenty of crushing action to be found, but it's the human side of a remarkable story that stands out in this dream chase.

Star Rating: 5/5