DVD Review: The Express

True Story of First Black Athlete to Win Heisman Trophy Hits DVD

Jan 26, 2009

In The Express, Rob Brown plays Ernie Davis, a colored football star who made his mark playing for the Syracuse Orangemen, in the late 1950's, making his way to the NFL

Ernie Davis is a timid young African American boy living under the guardianship of his grandparents, in 1940's small town Pennsylvania. Spending his spare time finding empty pop bottles to earn spare change, ernie's natural speed helps him dodge and avoid the local white bullies, who don't take well to black kids "stealing" their rightful empties from their turf.

Under the careful tutelage of his grandfather, "Pops" (Charles S. Dutton), Ernie slowly learns to overcome his issues of timidity, as well as a nagging stuttering problem. Some time later, Ernie's mother comes to town, advising that she has remarried, and can now afford to take care of her son.

Ernie soon makes his way up to Elmira, NY, where he takes a shine to the local football team. He soon outperforms his teammates, becoming one of its star players, due to his athleticism, and incredible agility and speed. By now it is the 1950's, and Ernie's high school exploits have caught the attention of several colleges and universities, including Notre Dame and Syracuse.

Hoping to find a suitable replacement to fill in the shoes of departing varsity star Jim Brown (who by then had been drafted in the NFL, by the Cleveland Browns), Syracuse Coach Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid) reaches out to the young Ernie Davis (Rob Brown), to convince him to come and play for his Syracuse Orangemen. By relying on some recruiting help by Jim Brown himself, and pointing out that Ernie would be called upon to replace on of his role models, Schwartzwalder succeeds in bringing the young star to his team.

As the first season takes its course, Davis faces many challenges, both on the gridiron and off the field. Despite his achievements, this is still a segregated America, and colored players are constantly reminded to know their place. Despite this, ernie's determination to win games and get the ball in the end zone, is a source of pride for his coach and team, and the Syracuse Orangemen reach higher peaks than ever before, ensuring Davis a spot to covet the prestigious Heisman trophy.

The Express takes the audience through the trials and tribulations of a young man's quest for self fulfillment, both of his dreams and of his life goals, despite being faced with oppression and opposition at every turn.

There is no mistake seeing this film as an uplifting, inspiring tale about courage and determination, and acceptance. Director Gary Fleder manages to convey a modest, yet engaging story about football and racial acceptance, without leaning too much one way or another.

Mixing some biographical elements into his tale, Fleder avoids turning The Express into a tale solely focused on the actions on the field, such as past films like The Program. Instead, the camera (and the narrative) stays with Davis, and how he deals with each new obstacle, be it racist referees, segregation while in the South playing Southern teams, or enduring the pressures of winning games against difficult opponents.

Sadly, itis historically known that Ernie Davis died at a relatively young age, due to leukemia. Thankfully, The Express mentions this in passing, by the end of the film. Rob Brown, who has a few modest successes under his belt (Coach Carter, Finding Forrester), gives us a well measured performance as Davis, managing to provide a subdued presence on screen, without pretention.

Dennis Quaid does decent work in the supporting role of Coach Schwartzwalder, and he finds no problem in allowing his younger co-stars the chance to shine throughout. Also, look for blink-and-you-miss-it apperances by Saul Rubinek as Art Modell, from the Cleveland Browns, and Clancy Brown as Roy Simmons Sr., an assistant coach.

The game scenes are lent realism, thanks to the behind the scenes work of Football Coordinator Allan Graf, who also cameos in this film (as a biased referee during a tough West Virginia game).

All in all, The Express is a clean cut, simple, decent biopic, about a young man who went on to inspire a whole generation of youngsters, who no doubt went on to their own athletic greatness.

The film's bonus elements include some interviews with teammates of Davis', who live to this day, as well as Syracuse greats Jim Brown and Floyd Little. Other small featurettes deal with the intricacies of filming football plays, with multi camera angles.

7 out of 10, for being a generally entertaining, to-the-point Football biopic.

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