PREFONTAINE
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1997 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): **
When I went into the press screening of PREFONTAINE, I was excited on several counts. First, and foremost, director Steve James's last picture was the great documentary HOOP DREAMS, which he produced and directed. I cannot tell you how much I loved that movie. It easily made the top of my best of the year list for 1994 as it did both Siskel's and Ebert's. Second, it was exciting to see a brilliant documentarian try his hand at his first non-documentary. Finally, the story of someone billed as the "James Dean of track," sounded provocatively interesting.
Before I begin commenting of the quality on the film, a warning is perhaps in order. After being presented the facts in the film, and I will accept them all as true, I believe that Steve Prefontaine was a dedicated and highly successful athlete who overcame the handicap of his less than optimal physique to set many track records in the United States. He was great, but I cannot say the same for the film about his life. It was a big disappointment for me.
The biggest problem with the movie is the script by Steve James and Eugene Corr. It rarely rings true and is full of trite little phrases. The more obvious, but actually secondary, problem is that James decided to make PREFONTAINE as if it were a documentary. There are numerous cuts to talking heads where the actors with the character's names below them talk as if they were not actors. A little of this might have worked, but combined with the poor script, it came off as terribly stilted. The film's pacing is uneven so that the film frequently drags. Many scenes that editor Peter Frank should have deleted are included.
Jared Leto plays Steve Prefontaine. Leto has deep blue eyes that seem to engulf the viewer. Prefontaine, known as Pre, was a cocky kid who was too small but tried every sport he could when he was a youngster. He finally found that he could excel at running so he set his sights on the mile since that was the glamour race in track at the time. Pre had a big ego and tried to upstage his teammates whenever he could. Although physically charming, I had a lot of trouble believing Leto was the Pre that they talked about. Leto smiles excessively and is never convincing as someone who is supposedly so obsessed with winning.
Pre goes to the University of Oregon where he plans on being the next Jim Ryan. There he meets legendary coach and the co-founder of Nike, Bill Bowerman. Bowerman is played by classic tough guy actor R. Lee Ermey. His signature role was as Sgt. Hartman in FULL METAL JACKET, but more recently he has been in SEVEN and DEAD MAN WALKING. If you recognize his voice, it may be because he did the voice of the Sergeant in TOY STORY. In PREFONTAINE he plays his character as too aloof and quirky. Except for the great shoes he makes for Pre, Ermey's coach seems disinterested and fairly useless. My suspicion is that Bowerman was more than just the cobbler to which the film relegates him.
Easily the best part of the picture is when Pre is running. The high point of the movie is the match up between him and a Finnish runner for the 5,000 meter race at the 1972 Olympics.
The way in which Pre switches to the three mile race from competing for the one mile is glossed over too quickly. Too often the film is full of talking heads and short, hallow speeches when it should have been back on the field.
The further the film gets away from the track, the more it bogs down. Pre has to answer mindless questions from the reporters like, "Hey Pre, how you going to beat the best of the world on their turf?"
A typical scene has the camera cut to the mom (Lindsay Crouse with an exaggerated German accent as Elfriede) and the dad (Peter Anthony Jacobs as Ray) in the stands. The camera will linger only long enough for the dad to say, "He ran his heart out." In another, Pre's coach tells him, "Nobody can ever coach desire." Pre's story is reduced to a series of banal sound bites by the script and the editor.
The film tries to cast the organization that runs amateur track (ATU) as a villain, but it makes the ATU into such a Pillsbury Doughboy that it is not particularly effective.
About the only line in the film that was worth pondering was the wisdom from the discus thrower Mac Wilkins (Brian McGovern). "I live for the discus," he confesses. "I hate Christmas and Thanksgiving and Easter -- anything that breaks my routine."
Many actors are wasted in the film, but none so badly as Amy Locane, who was excellent last year in her Lolita-style part in CARRIED AWAY. Most people missed her performance in it, which is a shame. In PREFONTAINE she plays Nancy Alleman, who is one of Pre's girlfriends. This talented actress is given a part with no substance. She is supposed to be a member of the women's track team, but the movie introduces this fact, then promptly ignores it.
Very few documentarians are good at making feature length movies. Michael Apted (28 UP, 35 UP, GORKY PARK and GORILLAS IN THE MIST) is the only one I know who can do both well. Steve James can do incredible documentaries. He should stick to what he does best.
PREFONTAINE runs about 1:45. It is rated PG-13 for two intense, but non-graphic, violent scenes and for some profanity. There was what appeared to be a seven-year-old near me. The movie scared him quite a bit in the intense parts. Kids, say nine or ten and up, should be able to handle the movie fine. A close call, but PREFONTAINE is not well made enough for me to recommend it. Perhaps someone will do or perhaps someone has already done a documentary on Steve Prefontaine's life. That I would like to see. I give the movie PREFONTAINE **.
**** = A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = Totally and painfully unbearable picture.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: January 22, 1997
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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