A movie for everyone to enjoy — it’s a Miracle!

By Rebecca Redshaw

Movies manipulate history, whether retelling a current event too soon to measure the true impact (any Made for TV Movie) or speculating with truth for one’s purposes (i.e. JFK or Gods and Generals). Add the public’s saturation of the video images of the “real” participants plus the need of a timely dramatic climax and filmmakers are faced with a definite conundrum if their purpose is to be true to the event.

Depicting the road to gold by the 1980 USA Men’s Hockey Team was a particular challenge. How would director Gavin O’Connor create cinematic excitement and still be true to a moment, which to some degree, is remembered by every adult American?

With sex, drugs, & rock ‘n roll? Hardly a beer was poured, no smooching except between husband and wife, and if there was foul language, it slipped by unnoticed even in locker room scenes. O’Connor’s secret is twofold – tell a good story and hire good actors.

The story, put adeptly in perspective of the times during the opening credits, is the classic tale of David (or in this case a team of Davids – USA college kids) and Goliath (the Russian hockey dynasty).

But Kurt Russell, cast as the enigmatic coach Herb Brooks, is the heart and soul of this movie. His performance is the epitome of determination. One of a handful of underused talents, Russell becomes the detached leader of the team, the distracted husband of Patricia Clarkson (another underused talent), and the diligent tactician that masterminds the road to gold.

O’Conner also compiled a team that served him well. Cinematographer Dan Stoloff and editor, John Gilroy worked with the director previously on the feature Tumbleweeds. The skating segments were interestingly cut and fast paced with a minimum use of slow motion, keeping the viewer in the action.

The original team that consisted of young college players averaging twenty-one years of age was portrayed by a bevy of young skaters, turned actors for the film, adding to the realism of the game segments.