The trailer for “Woodlawn” — a Christian sports drama from the Erwin brothers — opens with a claim to be the “undeniable true story” of how a southern high school overcame racial tensions in the early 1970’s. “Woodlawn” focuses on how one Birmingham football team’s spiritual awakening led the team, the school and the entire community to rise above the tensions caused by desegregation. The film, however, mainly focuses on the stories of its three leading characters: football star Tony Nathan (Caleb Castille), Woodlawn’s coach Tandy Gerelds (Nic Bishop) and evangelist Hank Erwin (Sean Astin).
The movie opens as Nathan and other African American students are being integrated into the previously all-white Woodlawn High School. The school erupts into violence as racial tensions run high and the now integrated football team fights within itself as well. The team then begins a miraculous turnaround when evangelist Hank Erwin offers to speak to them. Almost every member of the team becomes converted by Hank, and thus begins a journey of forgiveness and unity.
The evolution of coach Gerelds is fascinating to watch, and Jon Voight gives an entertaining depiction of legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. However, Caleb Castille’s portrayal of Tony Nathan is definitely the highlight of the film. Castille’s mix of strength and raw emotion in his acting perfectly illustrates a Nathan with the power to bring change and hope to Woodlawn.
“Woodlawn” does a surprisingly good job with such a tricky story. The film reveals just enough of its historical background without becoming bogged down in details. Few characters are fully developed aside from Nathan and Gerelds. However, with so much to tell, this is forgivable, especially since they are the characters most crucial to the story. The Christian components will turn off some viewers, but even here the film does a fantastic job of utilizing Christian elements to add insight into what happened. After all, if this is Nathan and Woodlawn’s true story, then that message gives a piercing glimpse into the motivation behind such a triumph.
“Woodlawn” is certainly not perfect, yet it redeems itself with a message more insightful than obnoxious. “Woodlawn” is neither a cleverly disguised pulpit nor moralistic entertainment — rather it’s an “undeniable” depiction of a moment in history and a very successful one at that.
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