This is a visually remarkable movie. Charles Biname and Pierre Gill do a terrific job of bringing the viewer back to the 1940s and 1950s and giving the movie a hardscrabble, gritty look. They also capture the rough-and-tumble, ultra-competitive feeling of Original Six hockey, where only the best of the best made it in and many players repeatedly had to fight - literally and figuratively - to keep their jobs. The hockey action is right up there with "Miracle" in quality. (It's also kind of funny to see the modern-day players making cameos in the movie struggling with the flat sticks and smaller equipment from that era.) Roy Dupuis also does a fine job of portraying the slowly building frustration, and ultimately rage, inside the Rocket as the NHL appears to discriminate against him on the ice.
The only complaint I had about the movie, and maybe I'm alone here and maybe I'm just being cynical, but there were little bits that felt manipulative. Some American directors, and I'm not naming names but one of them is Steven Spielberg, are getting into the habit of making movies specifically designed to win a lot of awards. They put these tug-at-your-heart moments into the movie, but really they make you roll your eyes so hard you almost pull a muscle. At times the movie came close to turning into the Canadian "Cinderella Man," but fortunately it passed quickly. Maurice Richard was probably one of the five best hockey players of all time and this movie certainly does his story justice.
And if that's not enough, Sean Avery gets the crap beat out of him, which drew loud applause at the screening I attended.
The only complaint I had about the movie, and maybe I'm alone here and maybe I'm just being cynical, but there were little bits that felt manipulative. Some American directors, and I'm not naming names but one of them is Steven Spielberg, are getting into the habit of making movies specifically designed to win a lot of awards. They put these tug-at-your-heart moments into the movie, but really they make you roll your eyes so hard you almost pull a muscle. At times the movie came close to turning into the Canadian "Cinderella Man," but fortunately it passed quickly. Maurice Richard was probably one of the five best hockey players of all time and this movie certainly does his story justice.
And if that's not enough, Sean Avery gets the crap beat out of him, which drew loud applause at the screening I attended.