Stephan James stars as LaMarcus James, a college quarterback wrathful over the iniquitous manner in which unpaid student-players are treated. In a last ditch effort to get through to management, James called an audible that resulted in a boycott of the big game. More than just a fact-based biopic, the anomaly of a football drama, unfolding largely in hotel rooms and hospitality suites, that doesn’t end on a field of head-injuries earned it one star; its depiction of gridiron life as a plantation lorded over by cash-rich, whip-cracking massuhs added another twinkler. The wrapping is novel, and the last shot adds a damning bow, but the corrugated narrative contained within made for a bumpy ride. Ric Roman Waugh’s direction is as canonical as his script is unremarkable. The film’s true heros are casting directors Mary Vernieu and Michelle Wade Byrd. With: J. K. Simmons, Kristin Chenoweth, Tim Blake Nelson, and Uzo Aduba, a force of nature we’ve yet to cross paths with. Expect to hear great things. (2021) — Scott Marks
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