Miracle (2004) review

Miracle (2004)

Directed by: Gavin O’Connor

Produced by: Mark Ciardi, Gordon Gray, Ross Greenburg, Justis Greene, Jon Mone, Greg O’Connor

Screenplay by: Eric Guggenheim, Mike Rich

Starring: Kurt Russell, Patricia Clarkson, Noah Emmerich

Oh yeah, the Winter Olympics in Beijing have been going on, haven’t they? Actually, they just ended this past weekend; but I picked out today as the day to review one of my favorite sports movies of all-time as a way of paying tribute to one of the most monumental upsets in sports history. 42 years ago today, the United States men’s ice hockey team toppled the mighty Soviet Union en route to their first gold medal since 1960, with the game earning the nickname “Miracle on Ice.” In 2004, it inspired a Disney movie called “Miracle,” a story about Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell), the coach who put the team together and taught them how to do the impossible. It’s a somewhat sanitized and schmaltzy retelling of a story that could’ve had much more grit, but it’s no less inspiring and captivating with its themes of unity and perseverance.

The film takes place before the backdrop of numerous cultural and social events of the 1960s and ‘70s: the Vietnam War, Watergate, technological advances, Three Mile Island, gas rationing, the Iran hostage crisis, the Soviet-Afghan War, and of course, the ongoing Cold War. At the center of it is Brooks, three-time NCAA champion head coach of the University of Minnesota who gets the opportunity to coach the Olympic national team at the 1980 games in Lake Placid, New York. Aided by assistant and former NHL player Craig Patrick (Noah Emmerich), Brooks—himself a late cut from the ’60 Olympic team—assembles a preliminary roster of 26 players, mainly college students from rival schools Minnesota and Boston, and takes them through the grinding, months-long process of molding them into a team capable of defeating the Soviets, winners of four straight Olympic gold medals.

I haven’t had much chance to talk about Kurt Russell over the years—and I promise I will review “The Thing” sometime—but it’s safe to say he’s one of the coolest, most charismatic performers of our time, frequently playing bad-asses in action and horror movies. But he got his big break by starring in Disney films of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, also providing the voice of Copper in “The Fox and the Hound.” This was his first Disney role in over 20 years, and he does masterful work as Brooks; he’s sort of detached and clinical in his coaching methods, but that belies the passion underneath, just how badly he wants to make the most of this opportunity, because chances like this just don’t happen. It’s true commitment from both parties, complemented with carefully nuanced chemistry with Herb’s wife Patti (Patricia Clarkson); they share great interactions, sometimes without dialogue, during key moments.

There have been countless documentaries and analyses of this game, and I’d rather not do a full dive into the actual event, but I do feel the need to stress how unlikely this all was. The Soviet team was comprised of the best players in the world, and in the previous four Olympics, had gone 27-1-1, outscoring their opponents 175-44. They were essentially professionals despite the amateur only rule, while the Americans were seen as kids going up against adults; the best NHL players at the time were mostly Canadian, and they had been victimized just as badly as the European teams. I don’t watch much hockey, so some of the vernacular and strategies go over my head; but it’s easy enough to follow along with the actions and disciplines as far as what Brooks wants his team to be. Brooks himself actually was a creative consultant on the film; prior to shooting, he had returned to coach Team USA in the 2002 Olympics, where they earned silver. Sadly, he died in a car accident just six months before the film was released; it’s dedicated to his memory, with the closing statement “He never saw it. He lived it.”

The players are mostly portrayed by real hockey players, since I imagine it would be pretty difficult to teach professional actors to play hockey at an Olympic level. One of the few exceptions is Eddie Cahill—Rachel’s boyfriend Tag on “Friends”—who plays goalie Jim Craig, although he’s mostly doubled by former NHL goalie Bill Ranford; goalies wear masks most of the time, so no big deal there. Craig has one of the more prominent roles as a player with unrealized potential due partly to grief over his mom’s death. Other major players include Mike Eruzione (Patrick O’Brien Demsey), the unlikely team captain, Jack O’Callahan (Michael Mantenuto) and Rob McClanahan (Nathan West), who get into a fight during the first practice over an old rivalry, and Ralph Cox (Kenneth Michell), the last man cut from the team in one of the more poignant scenes of the movie. Forward Buzz Schneider—the only returning player from the ’76 Olympic team—is actually portrayed by his son Billy. The acting skills vary, but you believe the camaraderie between these guys; their banter and chemistry really give the movie personality so it doesn’t become stoic.

Not to say it isn’t afraid to get down and dirty; one of the most memorable scenes is when after a lackluster effort against Norway in an exhibition game, Brooks has them do continuous wind sprints—affectionately called “Herbies”—which reportedly lasted nearly an hour, even after the rink manager turned the lights off. I used to play basketball; those kinds of drills are NOT fun, especially after you’ve already played an entire game. It’s arguably excessive how he treats them, but it’s clear he wants them as focused and dead-set on this goal as he is. I also love the difference in their body language facing the Soviet front line at face-off for the exhibition game before the Olympics versus the real thing; initially, they can barely look them in the eyes, intimidated as all hell by their apparent superiority, but by the end, they’re staring them down, ready for battle.

The editing during the Olympic Games is fantastic, specifically the sound design and especially the music by Mark Isham. The entire third period of the Soviet match is brilliantly intense cinema, just the way the momentum builds amid constant shots of the clock, the crowd, the benches, and the gameplay; it perfectly captures the controlled chaos of an epic sports moment, the way time can seemingly speed up or slow to a crawl, and just how emotions can flare, good or bad, depending on the situation. Again, I don’t watch hockey, yet I get shivers watching these final moments, where Brooks and his players finally realize the dream. It’s also cool to see Al Michaels and Ken Dryden re-record their television commentary, although the last 10 seconds were taken from the original audio, since Michaels didn’t think he could realistically replicate the call, which has only added to the lore of the game. At that time, he was a relative newcomer at ABC, more known for MLB play-by-play, but he’s since gone on to be one of the most respected broadcasters ever, calling everything from football to basketball to boxing to horse racing.

Obviously, the fact that this is based on a true story helps you buy into the clichés and tropes of a basic sports movie, particularly a Disney one. But what really helps it stand out is how it puts you into the uncertainty of the time period, constantly sprinkling in details of much larger world events to remind you, as Michaels so eloquently puts it, “Manifestly, it is a hockey game.” Characters wait in outrageously long lines for gas, watch chaotic scenes on TV, and listen to a sobering address from Jimmy Carter, then return their mindset to the job at hand, which itself becomes an object of attention to a lot of other people. It really helps push the narrative of how much power a sporting event can hold—the joy, the pain, the anxiety—and even give us hope that anything is possible if we’re willing to do the work.

Overall, I wouldn’t call “Miracle” a flawless movie; some of the scenes with Herb and Patti don’t have much flow or consistency as far as what’s being sacrificed, and the pacing could’ve been a little quicker; there are scenes and conversations that get the slightest bit repetitive. But I still love this film; it’s much cleverer than you’d think, and is powered by an Oscar-worthy leading performance and slick, impactful craft. Some sports movies based on true events take a lot of creative liberties to make the story more dramatic, but by most accounts, this is a pretty faithful telling, although there are still a few changes. The way the wind-sprint punishment is ended is phenomenally cheesy, although it does tie into one of the central motifs. With their recent 5th place finish in Beijing, the men’s hockey team still hasn’t earned a gold medal since 1980; maybe someday, they can recapture the right marriage of personnel and circumstances, but nothing will ever match the magical improbability of the 1980 games, a team and a coach that shared a vision of glory and did what it took to accomplish it.

My rating: 9.5/10