BY JONATHAN KANE
“Race” is the clever title of the fine new biography of the great American track star of the 1930s – Jesse Owens.
Owens became an icon when, during the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games designed as a showcase for the Third Reich and the superiority of the Aryan race, it instead became the story of a 22-year-old African American who shocked the world by taking home four gold medals.
“Race” tells Owens’ story, focusing on 1935 and 1936. In 1935, while attending Ohio State University, he set three world records and tied a fourth at a Big Ten track meet and was soon dubbed ‘the world’s fastest man.’
It also focuses on the plight of blacks in 1930s’ America and the conditions that they lived under here at home. Owens’ story is complex, and the movie, directed by Stephen Hopkins from an excellent script by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse, covers all the bases nicely.
Besides looking at the man’s infidelities, as well as his deep relationship with his wife (Shanice Banton), the movie also boasts two fine performances from Stephan James as Owens and, in a surprising turn, Jason Sudeikis as his coach and father figure, Larry Snyder. Sudeikis reveals an ability to carry a much weightier role than how we have seen him before as a comedian.
The scenes in Germany are particularly sharp as we are introduced to a menacing Josef Goebbels as the architect of the Games that Owens would ruin for Germany, and the great documentarian Leni Riefenstahl that recorded the games.
“Race” works on many levels and that speaks to its strengths. It’s not just a sports movie.