The Express [WS]

Director: Gary Fleder Gary Fleder

Overview

Finding Forrester star Rob Brown steps into the cleats of Heisman Trophy-winning gridiron giant Ernie Davis in director Gary Fleder's inspirational sports docudrama. As a young boy reared not far from the northern Pennsylvania state line, Davis dreamed of blasting through the end zone and scoring a triumphant touchdown while fans rose to their feet and cheered. When Davis later became a star running back for the Syracuse Orangemen, his dreams were finally on the way to becoming a reality. Under the wing of coach Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid), it seemed as if there is nothing that could stop Davis from entering into the annals of sports history; even during an era in which the civil rights movement was just gaining momentum, this fledgling gridiron giant never once doubted his ability to rise to the top. When Davis was diagnosed with leukemia shortly after being drafted into the NFL, however, his will to survive soon eclipsed his dreams of success.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/20/2009
UPC:	0025195024525
Original Release:	2008
Rating:	PG
Source:	STUDIO DISTRIBUTION SERVS LLC
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:10:00
Sales rank:	4,223

Special Features

Deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Gary Fleder; Making of The Express; Making History: The Story of Ernie Davis; Inside the Playbook: Shooting football games; From Hollywood to Syracuse: The Legacy of Ernie Davis; Feature Commentary with director Gary Fleder

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Dennis Quaid	Ben Schwartzwalder
Rob Brown	Ernie Davis,Roy Simmons Sr.
Charles Dutton	Willie 'Pops' Davis
Omar Benson Miller	Jack Buckley
Saul Rubinek	Art Modell
Nicole Beharie	Sarah Ward
Darrin Dewitt Henson	Jim Brown
Aunjanue Ellis	Actor,Actor
Justin Martin	Young Ernie
Geoff Stults	Bob Lundy
Mark Isham	Composer

Technical Credits

Charles Leavitt

John Lee Hancock

Jeffrey Lieber

Scott Williams

Gary Fleder	Director
Charles Leavitt	Screenwriter
Derek Dauchy	Executive Producer
Arne L. Schmidt	Executive Producer,Executive Producer
Ezra Swerdlow	Executive Producer
Ryan Kavanaugh	Executive Producer
Jennifer Smith	Casting
Deborah Aquila	Casting
John Davis	Producer
Scott Gershin	Sound/Sound Designer
David Obermeyer	Sound/Sound Designer
John Lee Hancock	Screenwriter
Jeffrey Lieber	Screenwriter
Scott Williams	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

The Express, Gary Fleder's biopic of Syracuse running back Ernie Davis, hits all the conventional plot points of the traditional inspirational football story. Davis (Rob Brown) establishes himself as a high-school phenom, triggering the interest of numerous big-time college programs. When Coach Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid) arrives for a recruiting visit -- bringing along recently graduated superstar Jim Brown (Darrin Dewitt Henson) to help seal the deal -- Davis agrees to play for the Orangemen. Once at the school, he bonds quickly with one of his two African-American teammates, offensive lineman Jack Buckley (a winning Omar Benson Miller), but must contend with racism from teammates, opponents, officials, and society. Davis faced these severe obstacles with the stoicism of his hero Jackie Robinson, and the young actor Rob Brown does a fine job of playing a resolutely self-assured guy. The script makes Davis a nearly flawless hero, but Brown is so loaded with personal charm that his performance keeps the character from growing dull. Davis works hard, and Brown communicates the joy Davis takes in practicing -- something that makes both the character and the actor nearly impossible to dislike. As the coach, Quaid does fine work, but the script lets him down; his tough love and his inspirational speeches are so familiar from countless other sports films that he never quite transcends the banality. That refusal to shed genre conventions keeps undercutting the good things about The Express -- for a film about a young man who broke new ground, the screenplay tells the story in the safest way imaginable. Director Gary Fleder attempts to escape from this traditionalism, but ends up overdirecting the material; there is so much slow-motion in the movie that it bloats the film's running time to two full hours, and the decision to shoot some of the game sequences in a grainy, washed-out film stock meant to feel like archival footage simply grows tiresome. It seemed the filmmakers were trying to create a Brian's Song for a new generation. The film has an unabashed, but still very manly, sentimentality; it's the kind of movie a guy's guy might actually allow himself to tear up while watching. Davis led an unquestionably inspirational life, but The Express, however heartfelt, is uninspired.