New Film Review: Race

RACE
Directed by Stephens Hopkins
Screenplay by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse
Starring: Stephen James; Jason Sudeikis;Shanis Banton; William Hurt; and Jeremy Irons



Jesse Owens (James) quest to become the worlds greatest track athlete leads him to the 1936 Olympics where he faces Hitlers crooked vision of supremacy.

This is a very hard film to review.  Mainly because this film slightly just lays there and does not go very deep. At the same time for what it is, it is a pretty good film.
It is well acted highlighted by Stephen James perfectly cast as Jesse Owens. He has the mannerisms down and he really does not over due it saying a lot by just letting empty space quietly speak for it self. Shanice Banton as Jesse's wife has great chemistry with James. Jason Sudeikis as Jesse's coach may have been miscast a bit but he does do a good job in the part.
Now for the screenplay. The screenplay works if you have never heard about Jesse Owens. You get a glimpse of his early life. You get surprisingly a tiny look at his poor treatment as a black man. You get the clash of "Owens vs Nazi Hitler" the battle. If you have never heard of Jesse you probably learn a lot.
As for me, and it is me who is posting the review, it misses a big chance at telling an interesting story. The Director (Hopkins)/Screenwriters (Shrapnel/Waterhouse) decided to just focus on the lead up to that Olympics while Jesse was at Ohio and the Olympics itself. I just think there is a bigger story to tell and that is his life. His love for his wife. His poor treatment by racist Americans when he returned. A White House that refused to acknowledge him. His relationship with his parents before and after the Olympics. The first Olympic athlete to take on advertisements and the Olympic committee then dumping him, then that is followed by the same advertisers dumping him also. Jesse racing a horse as he gets desperate for money, Jesse filing for bankruptcy. There is more of a story here. They elect not to dig deep.
So as I said it is difficult to review this film for what it is and what it could have been.
However I have to be fair to the film I saw .
I saw a well acted film that was a bit to long. It could have left out the parts played by Irons and Hurt. Their story lines were not needed, it was almost like the studio wanted star power so that part of the story which had nothing to do with Owens was added. Also, they went with to much cliche drama and some of it was not true.  The Hitler non hand shake was not true. It was seen by many people. By the way, they tried to make us feel upset that Hitler did not want to shake his hand, which was not true, but even if it was, why should I care or Jesse care. Hitler was pure evil. Who cares if Hitler never shook his hand. If I was Jesse I would not sweat it.
4 stars out of 5 for a well done film that could have been more. It is worth a trip to the theater, and after you watch the film read Triumph The Untold Story Of Jesse Owens, for more detail.

As always from the shadows thanks for your time.