Woodlawn

A very hard film to review, a film clearly of the "faith" genre so well produced, acted, directed, cast that it literally pulls at its own leash and tries to cross over into the mainstream.

Also lost in the shuffle is the fact that the "mystery" evangelist who appears out of nowhere and sparks the story fathered two sons who .. big coincidence here.. produced the movie.

A wonderful performance by Voight who frankly we take too much for granted. Compare his work here to Ray Dovovan and you will wonder if you are looking at the same actor.

A film is in many ways the ultimate recipe for a soufflé. Leave it in the oven a few minutes too long and it falls.

The irony is that with a little more judicious editing, a little less preaching, the objective of a true crossover might have been achieved.

Is it possible to make a sports movie about unification or redemption without religion???

As much as I love this kind of movie, many of them, including this one, do feel very much like a recruitment to the cause film. When a movie rams religion in as this one does it really diminishes the overall story.

Now I'm sure millions of religious people will disagree and fair enough but this is my opinion :)

Otherwise highly enjoyable.

The wife and I watched "Woodlawn" last night. We were surprised that we liked it so much. It's a combination of a sports movie, an anti-racism movie, and a pro-Jesus movie. In most cases, I don't much care for any of the three, because I don't like preachy movies and I don't care about sports itself. But this one really worked for me. It's based on true events. I found myself cheering out loud over a lousy touchdown (I never do that)! I found myself caring about the characters. It doesn't go over-the-top on the anti-racism message - so many movies have one or two token white guys who are decent, while the rest are vicious devils, just to make sure we don't miss the point, because after all we're too stupid to get it otherwise. The pro-Jesus message is there because it is necessary to the plot and the furthering thereof, so you don't feel like your church took you to see it in a van just to keep it from tanking at the box office. And the sports element is - well, OK, any football scenes in any movie are basically 'will he get the ball to the end zone or not?' because that's what sports is. It's a darned inspiring movie is what it is.

Woodlawn is easily the best faith-based film I've ever seen (one not based on a bible story, that is). The film details the true story of the Woodlawn High School football team in 1973 Birmingham, Alabama, the year the school integrated, and how this team helped bring the whole school together by all of the players accepting Christ. This is a story that could have easily been ham-fisted, but the Erwin Brothers (the directors of the film) manage to keep the film from ever being too sappy or preachy. All of the preaching of the film comes naturally from the characters and who they are, which is a problem with most faith-based films. Characters will often transform into philosophical sages when the filmmakers feel it is time to preach, and I think that just comes across as cheesy and not authentic to non-believers and some believers. Luckily, Woodlawn avoids that pitfall in its script, which could have been a little stronger in some areas (in particular in character depth and their motivations), but unlike most faith-based films, the good outweighs the bad here. Featuring some truly moving moments and a slew of well-realized football sequences, Woodlawn is a faith- based film I actually want to recommend.

I give Woodlawn an 8 out of 10!

This was one of two football movies coming out at the same time. The other was My All American. Being football movies they do have a similar concept, but while My All American seems to be about an underdog overcoming his physical condition, In Woodlawn, the underdogs use faith to over come their challenges, the biggest one being off the field...Segregation.

Based on a true story of a high school football team that fought segregation with the help of Christ. I'm not that big of a fan of faith based films, and this movie is faith base. It seemed too easy, even to the coach of the high school team, for these teenagers, who haven't even wrapped around their heads going to an non-segregated school, to somehow band together through the love of Jesus, but who am I to argue with the touching moments that occurred through those scenes (maybe that's how it happen?).

For me, the best part of the movie was the football. The way the camera moves within the players on the football field was hands down spectacular. I don't think I've ever seen a football movie filmed in such a matter. I felt closer to the grid Iron than I ever did watching a film.

Overall, it's an amazing story about how Jesus united blacks and whites in a place in Alabama on a football field. Go to watch the football, stay for the inspiring message.