Fresh
Few films have shown so powerfully the slashing double edge of sports fever.
David Ansen, Newsweek
Friday Night Lights
Hope comes alive on Friday nights.
2004 · 1h 58m · PG-13
Drama
Directed by
Peter Berg
Overview
A small, turbulent town in Texas obsesses over their high school football team to an unhealthy degree. When the star tailback, Boobie Miles, is seriously injured during the first game of the season, all hope is lost, and the town's dormant social problems begin to flare up. It is left to the inspiring abilities of new coach Gary Gaines to instill in the other team members -- and, by proxy, the town itself -- a sense of self-respect and honor.
Director and cast
- Peter Berg Director
- Billy Bob Thornton as Coach Gary Gaines
- Lucas Black as Mike Winchell
- Garrett Hedlund as Don Billingsley
- Derek Luke as Boobie Miles
- Jay Hernandez as Brian Chavez
- Lee Jackson as Ivory Christian
- Lee Thompson Young as Chris Comer
- Tim McGraw as Charles Billingsley
- Grover Coulson as L.V. Miles
- Connie Britton as Sharon Gaines
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
82%
Tomatometer
Fresh
A heart-pounding big-screen treatment that captures all the action of a tumultuous season while showing the emotional toll on the players.
Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader
Fresh
The affecting, gruelling result is less a document of recreational sport than one of obligation and ordeal.
Ben Walters, Time Out
Fresh
Nuance typifies both Mr. Thornton's highly calibrated performance and the film's absence of unnecessary underlining.
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
Rotten
Substitutes slick, cynical point-scoring for insight.
Charles Taylor, Salon.com
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