`FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS' SCORES A TOUCHDOWN.Byline: David Kronke Staff Writer STRIKINGLY, ``Friday Night Lights'' excels in its darkness. Director of photography Tobias Schleissler's digital cinematography cinematography: see motion picture photography. cinematography Art and technology of motion-picture photography. It involves the composition of a scene, lighting of the set and actors, choice of cameras, camera angle, and integration of special presents Odessa, Texas Odessa is a city located primarily in Ector County, of which it is the county seatGR6, in the U.S. state of Texas. Some of its city limits extend into adjacent Midland County. - a flat sprawl of crusty earth where oil derricks pump the remaining life from the land, as well as its inhabitants
The game is based loosely on the concepts from SameGame. - in stark grays and sepias. Only when its football players take the field for their ritual combat are you aware of color not of the white race; - commonly meaning, esp. in the United States, of negro blood, pure or mixed. See also: Color ; the stadium's green grass practically provides the only vibrancy in town. ``Friday Night Lights'' combines the small-town obsession with high- school sports of ``Hoosiers'' with the bleaker examination of the win-at- all-costs mentality of ``Playmakers Playmakers is a TV series on ESPN that depicted the lives of the players on a fictional professional football team. The show starred Omar Gooding, Marcello Thedford, Christopher Wiehl, Jason Matthew Smith, Russell Hornsby and Tony Denison. ,'' an ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network dramatic series about a football team that was so unflattering the cable network bowed to NFL NFL abbr. National Football League NFL (US) n abbr (= National Football League) → Fußball-Nationalliga pressures and canceled it despite good ratings. Based on a best seller by H.G. Bissinger, ``Friday Night Lights,'' directed by Peter Berg with a keenly observant eye for detail, essays a Texas town that sublimates its aspirations through its hometown Permian Panthers. For a chunk of its citizens, the glory days ended when they hung up their pads and helmets; they live vicariously through their progeny. Losing, as they say, is not an option. Billy Bob Thornton gives a nuanced performance as Gary Gaines, coach of the home juggernaut (positing them as underdogs, as the film occasionally attempts to do, is mildly disingenuous). The film tracks the Panthers' 1988 season, one of high expectations threatening to come undone by emotional obstacles. Quarterback Mike Winchell (an excellent Lucas Black) grapples with his fragile psyche, while the charismatic if arrogant running back Boobie Miles (a solid Derek Luke) sacrifices everything on his detoured road to become a superstar. Don Billingsley's (Garrett Hedlund) ardor ar·dor n. 1. Fiery intensity of feeling. See Synonyms at passion. 2. Strong enthusiasm or devotion; zeal: "The dazzling conquest of Mexico gave a new impulse to the ardor of discovery" for the game is diluted by his father's (country superstar Tim McGraw in a credibly dark performance) abusive demands for perfection that his son can't quite provide. In a tirade, Don's drunken dad insists that youthful gridiron glory ``carries you forever''; it's quite apparent it can't. Berg divines a subtly sinister aspect to jock-ocracy, and unearths the casually buried racism informing the attitude of some in Texas regarding sporting glory (Bissinger canceled book-signings in Odessa because its citizens were enraged en·rage tr.v. en·raged, en·rag·ing, en·rag·es To put into a rage; infuriate. [Middle English *enragen, from Old French enrager : en-, causative pref. by his book's revelations). Only when reaching its climactic confrontation does the film exaggerate and/or tidy-up significant elements of Bissinger's account to rally the film toward its necessary ennobling en·no·ble tr.v. en·no·bled, en·no·bling, en·no·bles 1. To make noble: "that chastity of honor . . . finale. But let's face it, Hollywood just can't help itself, and the revisions aren't as egregious as one might suspect. ``Friday Night Lights'' scores, but does no gratuitous preening in the end zone. David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke(at)dailynews.com FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS - Three and one half stars (PG-13: thematic issues, sexual content, language, teen drinking, rough sports action) Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Derek Luke, Jay Hernandez, Lucas Black, Garrett Hedlund, Tim McGraw Director: Peter Berg. Running time: 2 hr. Playing: Wide release. In a nutshell: Solid, largely sober portrait of a small Texas town's obsession with high-school football. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Billy Bob Thornton, left, has some coach's advice for Garrett Hedlund in ``Friday Night Lights,'' an adaptation of H.G. Bissinger's best seller about high-school football in Texas. |
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