"Courage" Film Review

Hope Salloum

“Courage”

May 16, 2016

From never-ending friendships, to a scholarship at the University of Texas, Courage will pull at your heartstrings and bring you to tears. This movie, also known as “My All American,” was a very entertaining and well-done movie. There were some elements of typical cheesy “football movie” in there, but it also had some great individually unique traits. I can honestly say that this bio-pic was very enjoyable.

This story centers around a college football player named Freddie Steinmark. This man is an unbelievably incredible football player who does whatever it takes to play football for his new team, the Texas Longhorns. He has his incredibly supportive girlfriend by his side, his best friend as a teammate, and a couch that has big plans and bigger dreams for him. Surprisingly enough, during the first half of the film, I did not even realize it was a bio-pic. Honestly it just seemed like a “big dreamers” football movie. We have Freddie who gets the girl, then gets a full ride on a football scholarship for one of the bigger names in college football. Freddie was shown for never giving up despite his height issues, and always trying to do more. Somewhere along the way, his knee started hurting him from an unknown accident. Despite the pain, he played through the season. Eventually, even with throbbing knee pain, he leads his team to victory in the final game. When he finally goes to the hospital to get his knee examined, he finds out he has bone cancer.

The way this story introduced his injury is one of the reasons I enjoyed this film. Freddie very quickly mentions that his knee is bothering him, but there was no accident that happened in the film to parallel with his pain. Over time, he started limping, but still continued on with football. This is a very realistic approach to an injury for a man such as Freddie Steinmark. He knew if he got it checked out any earlier he would have been out for the season. So he kept going despite the pain. When it was announced that he had bone cancer, the whole dynamic of the movie completely shifted. The first half was all about this short little football player who had big dreams, and now all of a sudden the audience is wondering if he will even survive. This story introduced his cancer in a way that contributed greatly to the main story. The audience felt immediately sympathetic because we grew to love this character and all of his hard work. It also opened a door for the second part of the story without completely disregarding everything the audience had just learned.

The second half of this film is what really makes this among other football movies a unique one. Freddie, the fastest and best player on the team, finds out that he has to have his leg amputated all the way up to the hip. He has no chance of playing in the Cotton Bowl, or even being able to walk again for that matter. However, just as his spirit never dies, Freddie doesn’t give up. Regardless of the doctor’s orders, Freddie practices walking on crutches so he can go watch the Longhorns play in the Cotton Bowl. The film does an excellent job of keeping Freddie’s optimism alive in every situation. He keeps a smile on his face, and never lets anyone know how scared he is. This is what made the film relatable and heart warming. Freddie is such an easy character to fall in love with. He is an amazing person that is never shown as anything but strong and hard working, even with only one leg.

Freddie has a talk with the doctor and finds out the chances of him living up to even one year longer are slim to none. He takes this news with strength in himself and in his faith. This film also does a great job of showing Freddie as a religious man without making the entire film a religious one. There are some scenes of him attending church and talking about God. However, the most effective scene is when his best friend’s brother died. Freddie tells Bobby to pray, but Bobby refuses. This is when we really see Freddie kneel down and pray for his friend. This faith and personality carries throughout the film. Freddie never gives up faith through any situation; and not only in God, but in himself as well.

Freddie eventually makes it to the Cotton Ball to be a supporter for the team. When he gets to the locker room, he sees his old uniform and 2 shoes on the floor. It takes him a minute to interact with the shoes, but he finally sits down and puts one shoe on. He laces them and sits proudly. For me, this was very effective for portraying the necessary emotion that the storyline had created. Freddie knew he only had one shoe he could put on, but he still put it on. He was a part of that team, and it will always be a part of him. Not soon after that scene, the film takes us through the present-day Texas stadium. It zooms in onto a picture of the real Freddie Steinmark. This is when the bio-pic becomes clear. There is a picture and description of Freddie’s story that has become a part of the Longhorn’s tradition. They honor him before every game. The film then shows the real footage of Freddie receiving the game-winning ball from the Cotton Bowl. This was the most effective element in the film. It made everything seem much more realistic, even though most of the film was a reenactment. Courage let me experience the life of a wonderful man, and amazing football player, and the most humbling story I have ever heard.

Writer: Angelo Pizzo, Jim Dent

Director: Angelo Pizzo

Producer: Paul Schiff

Main Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Finn Wittrock, Robin Tunney, Rett Terrell, Sarah Bolger

Running Time: 1hr 58 minutes