Directors: Daniel Lindsay, T.J. Martin
Running Time: 113 minutes
Certificate: 12a
Extras: UK Trailer
American football is something the UK has fondness for, but it will never be a staple of national pastimes as it is in the US. From high school through college and to the NFL (for the lucky ones) it enraptures a nation and inspires. Need proof of this? Have a watch of UNDEFEATED. Focussing on Manassas High School, and their team the Tigers, Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin follow coach Bill Courtney and some of the players – O.C. Brown, ‘Money’ Montrail, and Chavis Daniels – as they try to make history by winning a play-off game.
US documentaries are polished, shiny affairs and UNDEFEATED is no different; we get a look at the poverty in Tennessee but this is brief as the main focus is Bill Courtney. Coming across as a likeable but egocentric character (his inspiring talks to the team are laughable), he and his fellow volunteer coaches clearly love the players, pouring innumerable hours into helping them succeed academically as well as on the field. In fact, the the football plays second fiddle to the stories on show, and the documentary is more effective for this, and thanks to the engaging personalities the emotional parts hit home in a way so often missing from sport documentaries (and perhaps documentaries in general). Filmed over a season the filmmakers clearly developed bonds with their subjects, which shows with the honest interactions between themselves and the players.
UNDEFEATED is a story of boys becoming men with the backdrop of American football. It has heart running through it and whilst it may skirt on the bigger issues it is still one of the best sport documentaries of recent years. Now go get ’em sport.
UNDEFEATED is available on DVD from November 12th
