‘National Champion’ tackles big-money college football world through a lens of darkness
The film proves most effective at examining inequality in a system that has long relied on the self-employment of athletes, offering the promise of professional salaries and temporary scholarships. As it is said in the movie, only a small percentage of players will see an NFL dollar, while colleges and coaches make money when they sacrifice their bodies, at the risk of health effects. Long term comes with it.
The clue to all of this is Heisman award-winning quarterback LeMarcus James (Stephan James), who announced three days before the national championship game that he would not compete unless the NCAA agreed to a list of requirements for athletes to be fairly compensated. He’s joined by roommate Emmett Sunday (Alexander Lussig of “Vikings”), a tight finisher who knows his last college game might be the last he plays.
An ultimatum from the QB star sends shockwaves through the college football establishment, as conference heads, fearing the origins of the boycott called for could linger, ask the coach of LaMarcus (JK Simmons) talk to him. .
“This is my team. They will play for me,” the coach assured them, but the two players appeared to have worked out a complicated game plan, including trying to convince the opposing team to join. join them and attract a rather astute media. strategy.
The “National Champion” certainly stands at that level but starts to slip as it becomes more soapy and piles up on side situations, one involving the coach’s wife (Kristin Chenoweth) and the other. the other is deploying a fixer (Uzo Abuda) willing to do whatever it takes to take brass punching tactics to bring down this player’s uprising in its infancy.
“This is a flip-flop,” she told the NCAA honchos, in what has become increasingly a head-to-head David and Goliath fight, with LeMarcus being warned he has “everything to lose” and strength strong will “beat him” if he continues. .
However, the story becomes increasingly tense as pressure mounts to ensure that the game goes as planned, depicting the plot of the fat cat boosters and NCAA officials as they plan to preserve the game. protect the status quo.
At its best, “National Champion” feels calibrated to spark a conversation about the flawed framework of college sport, which has been talked about a lot but still isn’t enough. Then again, TV networks and sports-related media benefit from the existing system, and many fans just want to hear about wins and losses.
“National Champions” didn’t quite succeed in expanding what could have been a segment of HBO’s “Real Sports” into a movie. But does it, or should, provide another reason to pause when the big season goes on long enough to consider, “Who’s really profiting from all this?”
“National Champions” opens in US cinemas on December 10. The film is rated R.
