A review of the 2015 movie “McFarland, USA”
We all love a feel-good movie. And the Americans especially have made a sub-genre of a sporting feel-good film in which the underdog overcomes adversity and makes it big, whether the sport is boxing (the “Rocky” franchise) or football (“The Blind Side”) or baseball (“A League Of Their Own”) or – in the case of “McFarland” – cross country running.
Of course, as well as the underdog, the sub-genre requires a mentor or coach and, following his memorable performance in “Field Of Dreams”, Kevin Costner seems like perfect casting in this ‘based on a true story’ movie in which he plays real-life Jim White who took a bunch of underprivileged Latino youngsters in McFarland, California and turned them into unlikely but repeated winners.
In a delightful coda, we see each of the runners as they were in 2015 with a note on what has happened to them since the events featured in the movie. Interestingly, this very American tale in which all the leading roles are male is directed by female New Zealander Niko Caro who first came to fame with her film “Whale Rider”.