The Express tells the true story of football player Ernie Davis. The story is cast in a similar mold to Brian's Song, but without the exceptional performances from the latter film. Ernie Davis followed Jim Brown to Syracuse and was considered to be better by some analysts. That makes this story even more poignant for me. I personally consider Jim Brown to be the best football player ever to take the grid-iron (followed closely by Barry Sanders).
Ernie Davis narrates his own story, in the form of an article that he wrote for the Saturday Evening Post. The narration opens with a young Ernie (Justin Martin) collecting bottles on the railroad tracks with his cousin Will (Justin Jones). The two encounter a large group of boys who begin spewing racist remarks. Will jumps a passing train, leaving Ernie standing among the group of boys. When a demand is made for Ernie to forfeit his bottles, he wraps the burlap bag tightly in his arms (like a football) and stammers "no." Ernie then splits two defenders and cuts left over the berm of the tracks into the woods. After hurdling a fence, he leaves the group behind. The narration indicates that he is not sure when he realized what he wanted to do. At some point in his childhood, Davis could already see those defenders out of the corner of his eye.
The young Ernie was inspired by Jackie Robinson, breaking the race barrier in baseball. He posted a picture of Robinson on his wall and told Will "that man is making a difference without speaking a word." Davis seems to have understood his unique position to change people's attitudes in the way he conducted himself on and off the football field, and took that responsibility solemnly. Ernie Davis (Rob Brown) is recruited to Syracuse, where he leads the team to their first undefeated season and first National Championship. Aside from setting records for Syracuse, Davis became the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. While Davis outwardly battled racism and his own desire to excel, he was fighting a silent killer, Leukemia.
We often elevate sports figures to impossible heights. We make heroes out of men simply because they can throw or catch a ball. I have often taken exception to that, especially as so many young men fail to accept the responsibility of role model thrust upon them with their fame. Many state that they shouldn't be viewed as role models...but that is why they make the money they do. Kids want to see them perform and wear their jerseys and shoes. That is where the money ultimately comes from. But, there seems to be a disconnect between athletes and their responsibility to their young admirers. That responsibility is not lost on Davis, who accepted that responsibility and conducted himself accordingly. That also makes his story special.
What hurt The Expresswas poor casting. Brown irritated the hell out of me. I did not like his performance and did not buy it. In fact, I had trouble picturing Davis as a standout running back physically as well. The acting was really not where it should have been. Having said that, Dennis Quaid was solid as Syracuse coach Schwartzwalder. I wasn't necessarily knocked off my feet by his performance, but it was a welcome relief from the poor performance by the male lead. Another strong supporting performance came in the form of Willie "Pops" Davis, played by Charles S. Dutton. Darrin Dewitt Henson had a minor role as Jim Brown and did okay with it. Another better than average performance came from fellow football standout Jack Buckley (Omar Benson Miller). Although there were some bright spots, the performances (as a whole) were average at best.
The Express was set in the 1950s, which was a turbulent time in race relations in the United States. Stock footage added some nice flavor to the film to help set the mood of the times and add credibility to the importance of the barriers Davis faced. To further extrude the flavor of the era, throwback football uniforms fit the bill. I love those old ugly-as-sin uniforms that were the staple of that time period. The racial elements in the film are delicately handled without becoming preachy and without minimizing the importance of race to the story being told. It was a balancing act that was handled tactfully.
The Express has a two hour, ten minute run time. The film was sluggish at times and got seemed to get distracted. If the script had stayed "on point " it could have shaved fifteen or twenty minutes off and been a much leaner, better film.
I enjoyed The Express because of the story. Ernie Davis never took a snap in the NFL. Yet he broke down barriers both on and off the field. The prospect of what this young player could have become and the many challenges he faced without ever losing his faith are a compelling story. It seems that this story wasted an exceptional opportunity on mediocre acting and poor pacing. I would still recommend The Express, it has something lovable at its core that makes it worth viewing. 6.5/10.
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