Breaking boundaries

The Ernie Davis story is, undoubtedly, an inspiring tale of perseverance, determination and racial segregation.

The Express follows the epitaph of Davis, the first black man to win the Heisman Trophy. Davis played his college ball at Syracuse University, and the film explores the trials and tribulations of the football star, telling a familiar yet stimulating tale of overcoming obstacles.

Davis (Rob Brown, Stop-Loss) spent the majority of his childhood living with his grandparents in Pennsylvania. But when his mother re-emerges, she announces that she has remarried and can afford to raise Ernie.

Mama Davis takes him to live with her in Elmira, N.Y., where he excels at football among other sports, drawing the attention of college scouts.

Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid, Vantage Point), the Syracuse football head coach, pays Ernie and his family a visit, enticing him to come play for the Orangemen.

The rest of the film re-enacts the events of the 1959 season, two years before Davis actually won the Heisman. However, this marked the team's first undefeated championship season.

While much of the film deals with the racial tensions that Davis experienced, the most interesting and compelling issues are between him and his coach.

Quaid delivers all the aggression that is expected from a collegiate coach, causing freshmen to wonder what happened to the nice guy that recruited them. He also succeeds in portraying his subtle prejudices toward the three black athletes on his team.

While Schwartzwalder was by no means a racist by 1959 standards, none of his stunts would be tolerated in this day and age.

Despite his main goal to win football games, Schwartzwalder is still more than willing to bench the black players in the case of the referees favoring the caucasian ones. It's heartbreaking to see Davis carry the team on his back down the field, but not be allowed to score the touchdown.

Davis emulated his own career from that of former Syracuse running back Jim Brown. Brown dealt with the same discrimination and explained that the best thing Davis could do was to just play the best football possible.

The film's cinematography is as inspiring as its subject matter. Football scenes were shot using modern technology, while inter-cut stock footage and grainy film give the games a '50s feel.

The silence that falls over the theater as Davis plays his first college game sets the mood perfectly. As he prepares to return the kickoff, all the sounds of the crowd are blocked out and the only sound is the ball sailing through the air and the oncoming footsteps of the defense. It's an immersive scene that brings the viewers right onto the field.

Unfortunately, there are several elements that keep this good movie from being great.

During the game against West Virginia, the crowd is shown as unsettlingly racist, shouting animosities towards the head coach for playing his black students.

This is undoubtedly added to the film for dramatic effect, as Schwartzwalder played college football at WVU and also coached high school football in West Virginia before moving on to Syracuse. He was well respected in the community and as such, the way the scene is shot seems far-fetched.

While it adds to the film's theme of racial tension, it was too great of an embellishment to benefit the movie.

Far too often, the football plays purely showcase Davis' excellence, while the rest of team ignored constantly onscreen.

In most sports movies of this nature, it is more effective to show the real-life hero's early signs of failure and then have the player recognize his full potential, overcoming the obstacles in his way. There is hardly a scene, if any, that doesn't show Davis being anything but great.

Davis' bout with leukemia was underdeveloped as well. He was drafted to play in the NFL, but died at 23 before he ever got a chance to play.

The Express is still worthwhile though. The actors are nearly flawless in their performances and convey the racial tensions without being too melodramatic. It is a common tale, but nearly everything comes together, making it a welcome addition to anyone's collection of inspirational sports films.