Denzel Washington has proved numerous times that he is one of the
true megastars of the silver screen, and in Remember the Titans, he is as charismatic as
always. His role may not have the Oscar power of the one from The Hurricane or Malcolm X,
but he is a presence, nonetheless. Supporting cast, headed by Will Patton does the work
mainly from the background, and many young actors contribute greatly to the movie’s
atmosphere, underlined by the fact that it is based on a true story. Herman Boone (Washington) is
recruited as the new head coach of T. C. Williams Titans, a high school football club in a
town just south enough of the Mason-Dixon line, Alexandria, VA. Polarization is immediate,
as Boone enters the world of racial prejudice and a society that copes with racial
integration. Although black himself, Boone is color-blind, and divides his team into
offense, defense and special teams. His priority is the team, the game, and his wrath of a
coach is equal for all. Opposite his open, intense and somewhat stubborn persona, there is
the former coach Bill Yoast (Patton), a beloved figure in the locker room and on the
street. The two men will develop a strange bond and try to help each other out on the
social obstacle course towards the Big Game.
Of course, this all sounds
like we’ve seen it before in one form or another. However, Remember the Titans is
subtler than the average moviegoer may think. The story of the initial animosities is only
a set-up for the more elaborate issues that follow. The first-time director Boaz Yakin
guides us through Coach Boone’s grueling camp, where we observe the gradual process
of unlikely bonding between white and black students, a process that is never completed,
which brings a sad, but true ring to the story. The turning point of that part of the
movie is a scene in which Boone leads a morning run through the woods to the memorial
field of Gettysburg, a powerful message to his own soldiers.
At that point, the movie is
just getting started. The youngsters seem like they are way over the color of their skin,
but upon their return from the camp, they will discover that there is a steeper mountain
to climb back home. Bars and restaurants deny service to black players, relationships are
broken because the others have formed, the freshly healed wound opens again, and even
Coach Boone gets a brick in his window, and a threat that he’s out of the job if he
loses even only one game. Enter the Titans’ unforgiving defense, led by Yoast. The
team starts winning, and the tides in the town turn. Slowly, with the help of the
Titans’ scores, the town learns a lesson about fear, ignorance and prejudice. But, as
we know, the disaster strikes often when it is least expected.
The good thing about
Remember the Titans is that it is using football to tell a more important story, the story
about centuries of fighting for equality and against prejudice. Overcoming fear of the
unknown is a painful process, and the movie doesn’t take many shortcuts. And even
though it just marks the end of a horrible movie summer, Remember the Titans is actually
just a prelude to a much better fall.