This is based upon a true story
The story will open with the death of Brandon Burlsworth although we won't see any of the accident he was in. We see the beginnings of funeral arrangements for him and why his brother Marty (Neal McDonough ) cannot understand why this happened.
Brandon Burlsworth (Christopher Severio) had always wanted to be a Arkansas Razorback football player and he had to try harder than most to achieve it even when it was always in doubt, mostly because of his weight. High School Coach Bender (Fredric Lehne) called him a "diamond in the rough" and hoped someone would notice. His brother Marty was 17-yrs older than Brandon and many thought he was Brandon's father. Marty wanted the best for Brandon but really didn't believe Brandon would achieve his dreams.
This really isn't a football story It's a story about determination, faith and trust. Christian undertones dominate this film, but is not preachy. We see a little football, of course, but we mostly see the struggles Brandon went thru at different stages to achieve his dreams and never gave up and always tried to do better. We will see Brandon take a lot of abuse from just about everyone especially from the players he hoped to play with. Some of this will tear at your heart. Oh, and have box of Kleenex handy.
It was nice to see Neal McDonough finally in a good guy role. He is a great, perhaps underrated, actor even though he plays the bad guys a lot. He always gives a very good performance and he did in here.
Notables: Nick Searcy as The Farmer who tries to shake Marty's faith and it is fragile at best; Michael Parks as Leo, Brandon and Marty's alcoholic father; Leslie Easterbrook as Brandon and Marthy's adoring mother; and Mark Dobies as Coach Nutt, the coach in Brandon's senior year and he convinces the new coach not to go into a rebuild program and not to give up on this team as things will change.
At the end there will be statements about how Brandon Burlsworth's life impacts many today. This is a very uplifting and impressive story about a young very impressive young man. Christopher Severio has done an excellent job portraying Brandon Burlsworth. Kudos. (9/10)
Violence: Yes. Football scenes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Humor: Yes, at times. Language: No
Rating: A
