MIRACLE (2004)
Walt Disney Pictures

By Désirée I. Guzzetta

I'm generally not into sports movies, but I couldn't pass Miracle up, especially as I remember vividly those particular Olympic moments of pure, unadulterated joy. Oh, and having Kurt Russell in the lead didn't hurt, either.

Miracle avoids the usual sports film clichés. It's more about Coach Herb Brooks (Russell) than the actual 1980 U.S. Ice Hockey team, so the team members don't get fully fleshed out, but we see enough of them to get a good idea of how much work Brooks had to do in shaping this group of fellows from different colleges--still wearing their former affiliations on their jersey sleeves--into a cohesive team capable of competing with the top hockey teams in the world.

The film gets us into the mood of 1980--long gas lines, uncertainty on the foreign stage, etc.--right away, setting the stage for the "miracle on ice" to come.

According to Miracle, Brooks was a deeply driven man who managed to remain aloof from his team even as they were bonding with each other--and that appears to be exactly what he wanted, based on the results of his coaching style. Also, he had to work hard to get the job, and then harder to get the team members he wanted (as always seems to happen in sports films--and life--other interests wanted to interfere with Brooks' decisions). Russell is more than up to the task of showing Brooks' hard edge while being more tender in his scenes with his wife (Patricia Clarkson), even though she realizes and seems to accept, mostly, that coaching is his top priority.

Of the team members, the standouts are Patrick O'Brien Dempsey as team captain Mike Eruzione (possibly the most famous of the players) and Eddie Cahill as Jim Craig; most of the other principals we meet are quite good, too. This is a great achievement in casting and direction because most of the guys are played by real hockey players, not actors, making the performances natural and the hockey scenes realistic and exciting.

In fact, one of the geniuses of this film is the excitement it generates during the hockey games, even to those of us who know the outcome. There was a point where I was on the edge of my seat wondering who would win--and I already know because I saw the actual games in 1980! Credit Gavin O'Connor with excellent direction and Eric Guggenheim for his solid script--not to mention the performances I've already pointed out.

Miracle is already on my Top 10 list of best films of 2004; I bet it will make it on your Top 10 list as well.

Official Miracle Site

Walt Disney Pictures
Director: Gavin O'Connor
Screenwriters: Eric Guggenheim
Starring: Kurt Russell (Herb Brooks), Eddie Cahill (Jim Craig), Michael Mantenuto (Jack O'Callahan), Patrick O'Brien Dempsey (Mike Eruzione), Kenneth Mitchell (Ralph Cox), Nathan West (Rob McClanahan), Noah Emmerich (Craig Patrick), Patricia Clarkson (Mrs. Brooks)
Running Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Rated: PG

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