Road to Victory
When I first heard the narration, I’ll admit I was a bit nervous. Narration is all-too-often a crutch for filmmakers to lean on. It’s a rare filmmaker that can use it for how it should be used- to get deep into the mind of their character.
Thankfully, it’s not long into “Road to Victory” when writer-director Mike Reilly (who also stars as Elliot) proves he knows how to use narration. I’m not saying it’s up there with “Adaptation.” or “GoodFellas” with the best of them, but his words have a rough sadness to them, and he uses it sparingly.
This could have been a message movie. It could have been a formulaic Hollywood melodrama. And in all honesty, there are times when the actors seem to be…”acting,” if you catch my meaning.
Fortunately, Reilly’s allergic to formula, and his story is honest and surprising. Elliot is the star quarterback for his college football team. Anna (Julia Anderson) is a stripper named Indigo who struck up a conversation with him in class one day, and they hit it off. It’s Elliot’s senior year, and he’s coming off of an injury that has his draft prospects dwindling. To make matters worse, he can’t perform sexually, which not only strains his relationship with Anna, but also causes some difficult choices that may effect his future.
Reilly understands his characters to their psyche. He also plays them without compromise. Yes, Anna is your average hooker with the heart of gold, but she’s also a woman with some real concerns and vulnerabilities. And Elliot, well, Elliot is a sympathetic protagonist whom we understand his fears, his desires, and his decisions, even if those decisions threaten to derail all that he’s worked for over the years. Most importantly, we still care about him even when he seems to have changed for the worst as a result.
I mentioned the narration earlier. A couple of other choices Reilly makes as a filmmaker don’t work so well. On the whole, the score by Surque is effective, but sometimes gets overly melodramatic. And seriously, does every practice have to happen in the rain?
Still, those are minor quibbles of a film that plays it straight and bold with a subject that isn’t always filled with easy answers. Instead, we hear too often about the scandals of such choices in real life. This is more worthwhile than that nonsense. Reilly has made a compelling and moving film that is a great character piece. And on the whole, his and Anderson’s acting gets to the heart of the matter, and creates an emotional center that gets under your skin, and makes you reflect (and revel) in life’s difficulty.
