When They Were Kings

The fateful story of University of Texas legend Freddie Steinmark ranks as one of mythic proportion, saturated in inexorable tragedy and grit-fueled redemption. Finally, a nuanced and dignified narrative of the short-lived Steinmark's uncommon vivacity – written by Rudy and Hoosiers screenwriter Angelo Pizzo – graces the silver screen, in the poignant, feels-heavy My All American.

"I read [Courage Beyond the Game: The Freddie Steinmark Story] and it made me cry. I never cry reading books," remarked Pizzo, who also makes his proper directorial debut. "I thought, 'Here's an opportunity to tell a story about a hero, a young man with tremendous assets, characteristics. A true, authentic, iconic hero.' [It] felt like it had all the pieces."

Upping the ante is the film's double-centering around Steinmark's life and untimely death to bone cancer, and the mythologized "Game of the Century" between top-ranked Texas and second-ranked Arkansas – itself a critical moment in American sports history.

Nicknamed "Dixie's Last Stand," it's the last major sporting event, occurring after integration, involving two all-white teams. The nationally televised 1969 matchup whipped up such a stir that President Nixon made it appointment viewing, requiring his physical presence.

Aaron Eckhart becomes beloved University of Texas head coach Darrell K. Royal, winner of three national championships – including Steinmark's last season. He would also see through to proper integration of Texas Athletics. According to Pizzo, Eckhart's portrayal of Royal was carefully crafted for authenticity.

"He arrived in Austin a month before he started shooting to really get it down, really to try to nail the accent, [and] to find out who Darrell was beyond the words in the script. He ended up meeting with so many people that Coach Royal knew, as far as teammates, his friends, his former coaches, and more important than anybody else, [his wife] Edith Royal.

"Getting her stamp of approval, at every level, was extremely important. Her support [during] the making of the movie, and then after the movie was finished, continues to be important."

Fresh-faced Finn Wittrock, an up-and-coming lead most recently of American Horror Story fame, co-stars as Steinmark. The actor plays the former all-conference safety as a realistic Pan, interminably resolute and full of aw-shucks grins. He's evidently capable of all things his innocent can-do mind locks onto, but learns he can only control so much.

To Pizzo's good fortune, he found Steinmark's doppelgänger in Finn. "He was the one of only two actors that made me cry in audition. We were so fortunate that he looked like Freddie, and he was the same height as Freddie.

"The only conflict I had with him in the whole movie was he kept on wanting to do take after take as a football player. I said, 'We need to get the double in. We can't lose you. We need you for the rest of this script.' Finn was a warrior, and he was our gift."

Pizzo's deft script puts the flawless hero in positions of doubt, replacing the fault-overcoming protagonist frequently found in sports cinema. The writer/director revisits something of an alternate track, more akin to the warmth in the James Caan/Billy Dee Williams-starred Brian's Song – Royal as Sayers and Steinmark as Piccolo. Through a similar vein, Wittrock and Eckhart produce a unique chemistry.

Wittrock displays a remarkable ability to locate Steinmark's true grit and courage, especially during his toughest stretches. Dealing with (and overcoming) levels of contextual loss serves as the picture's central motif and message, starting with Steinmark's relationship with his father. Even Texas' monumental triumph, for this Steinmark contributed heavily, isn't without consequence.

"That's a test of our hero character – what do you do, not in the face of victory, but in the face of loss?"

---

My All American opens Friday, Nov. 13. See Film Listings for showtimes and review.