Debaters’ Triumphs As Classic Sports Film

By Steven Uhles

Great because it never tries to be grand, The Great Debaters succeeds as a classic sports movie (if debating can be considered a sport) and as an indictment of the Jim Crow South.

The film, directed by and starring Denzel Washington, is based on the true story of a debate team from Wiley College, an all-black institution in tiny Marshall, Texas, that worked its way into a highly publicized debate against a team from Harvard.

As expected from a sports movie, the team develops, struggles and eventually emerges stronger and better for its travails.

What makes the movie work is the nearly instinctual way Mr. Washington works issues of class into the narrative. Rather than having them feel like tacked-on lessons, Mr. Washington manages to make them important elements of the narrative. They become part of the students’ and teacher’s personal journeys and eventually prove to be elements of the story that serve several purposes.

Mr. Washington proves to be an adept and admirably restrained filmmaker. His film is set up with beautiful shots that are carefully constructed not to distract from the story.

He assembled a stellar cast, including. Forrest Whitaker, who follows his landmark performance in The Last King of Scotland with a carefully controlled portrayal of a man whose towering intellect alienates him from his son.

Perhaps the smartest move Mr. Washington makes is acknowledging that debate, though a noble pursuit, does not necessarily make great cinema.

The debate scenes are intentionally brief, offering just enough information to keep the story moving but not so much that The Great Debaters becomes a movie about oration.

Originally published by Steven Uhles Staff Writer.

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