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Mary Poppins Returns Review Review by Josh Lasser
More From Deadpool
More From Race (Jesse Owens Biopic)
Movie Review / 18 Feb 2016 12:30 PM PST

Race Review

Stephan James' Jesse Owens races through this look at the Olympian's life.
By Josh Lasser

It is apparent very early on that Race is not a traditional biopic. The Stephen Hopkins film has no desire to take the audience through Jesse Owens' entire life. In fact, it sticks to a very small portion of it, going from 1933 and Owens' departure for Ohio State University through his multi-gold medal performance at the 1936 Olympic Games.

In addition to depicting these few years of Owens' life, Race also tells two other stories – that of German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl making her documentary, Olympia, and the behind-the-scenes machinations that led to the U.S. not boycotting the games in Nazi Germany. The result of this mix of stories is that rather than giving the audience a single, thorough examination of any one thing, it skims the surface of three. Facts about Owens' life and track and field triumphs are offered, but insights are not to be gleaned.

Owens (Stephan James) arrives at Ohio State early in the movie to find that he is not terribly welcome; that members of the athletic department (mainly the football team) are not happy to have him there due to his race. His track and field coach, Larry Snyder (Jason Sudeikis), may be on his way out as the team tends to lose, and Snyder isn't a terribly nice guy anyway.

Of course, Snyder is nice once people get to know him and of course he will be able to coach Owens to glory and of course he will become respected for his work due at least partially to Owens' triumphs. Any audience knows exactly where all of this is headed as soon as it begins, not because of any true accounts of Owens' story but rather because it plays out exactly like any number of sports movies that have come before Race.

Exit Theatre Mode

The problem is not that we have seen this sort of story before, it is that Race isn't able to get at anything beyond the surface about Owens. People who watch the movie will have little insight into the man himself.

As Race shows him, Owens is a contradiction. He is a shy young man who just wants to run and support his girlfriend, Ruth (Shanice Banton), and their daughter. He is also someone who has no problem standing in front of thousands of loud, obnoxious, racist spectators in order to compete. Owens can't look Snyder in the eye the first time they meet, but baring himself before the public is no problem. It isn't just that Owens is okay in front of a crowd but not good one-on-one either, because we do see him stand up to other people.

There are unquestionably ways to understand this apparent contradiction and thereby get at some truth about Owens and the kind of man he was, but Race doesn't do that. It allows these two sides to stand separately and never tries to reconcile them.

Instead, Race spends its time with Nazi filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl (Carice van Houten) and with the possibly corrupt Avery Brundage (Jeremy Irons), a member of the group organizing U.S. participation in the games. Both individuals come into contact with Owens, but neither of their stories, as the film depicts them, require the time and depth they are given if the movie is about Owens.

The three stories existing side-by-side, rather than introducing some sort of deepened discussion, makes it feel as though Race doesn't know what it wants to be. Is the film about Owens growing into adulthood? Is it about his standing up for what is right? Is it about Larry Snyder's coaching legacy? Is it about questioning Brundage's work? Is it another attempt to reclaim Riefenstahl despite the films she made to promote the Nazis?

Race takes a scattershot approach and attempts to tell all these stories, weaving them into a single narrative. However, the threads are never pulled tightly enough together and the audience is left seeing the holes rather than a finished cloth.

Almost as bad is the fact that the races themselves tend to not be terribly exciting. This is due to the camera angles offered during races which do not give a clear view of what is taking place and therefore do not lend themselves to providing suspense (even if the audience knows the outcome).

On the plus side, there are some genuinely wonderful moments between Snyder and Owens as the two men get to know each other and become friends. In these moments Sudeikis imparts Snyder with more humanity than he might otherwise, particularly in light of the preachy but somehow empty speeches Snyder gives with regularity.


While it might be fair to say that too little takes place in Race, it is because too much is attempted. At almost two hours and 15 minutes Race isn't exactly short, but it is nowhere near long enough to tell all the stories it would like. There are facts that can be gleaned from the film, but the audience is still left looking for the whole story, any of the whole stories, and will leave disappointed at having gotten none.

Race Releases Feb. 19th, 2016