The Heart of the Game

last updated 8 January 2015

Girls' high school basketball coach and University of Washington tax law professor Bill Resler would make a pretty good documentary subject 'œall on his own,' said Kevin Crust in the Los Angeles Times. That a 14-year-old prodigy named Darniella Russell walked into his gym one day makes this an even more exciting film. Ward Serrill set out to film Resler's maiden season as coach of Seattle's Roosevelt High School, little suspecting 'œwhat authentic drama awaited.' This is not your typical sports movie, said John Anderson in Newsday. For one thing, 'œit's not about underdogs.' The Rough Riders—under Resler, at least—take no prisoners. They regularly devour their opponents, egged on by Resler to 'œdraw blood!' It's the relationship between Resler and Russell that forms the heart of the film. A young black woman with immense talent and drive but little self-esteem, Russell is derailed by an event in her junior year that threatens her future. She's 'œa mesmerizing mix of contradictions,' said Christy Lemire in the Associated Press. Russell had hoped to be the first in her family to attend college, yet she drops out of school. The story of her attempt to come back and play again is a feel-good story, to be sure. But it's so thrilling and real that 'œit's impossible not to be sucked in by its energy.'

Rating: PG-13