Winning the gold war

Miracle
PG
Starting tomorrow at area theaters
Three reels out of four

In 1980, a group of American college hockey players pulled off one of the most incredible upsets in the history of sports by beating the Soviets in the Olympics. The Russians were so good that year, they beat squads before stepping on the ice just by sheer intimidation.

The architect of the ’80 victory was coach Herb Brooks, who, 20 years earlier, had been cut from the U.S. team that won the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley, Calif.

Miracle tells the story about this unlikely group of young men and the stubborn coach who guided them, and how they captured the imagination of an entire country — if only for a moment.

The movie begins with the hiring of Brooks (Kurt Russell), who convinces the powers-that-be that beating the Soviets is the key to taking the gold medal. With just months to go before the Olympics, Brooks takes a group of undisciplined but talented college kids and teaches them a different way to play hockey.

Three days before the big contest, the Americans play the Soviets in Madison Square Garden and are beaten mercilessly.

At the Olympics, the American team overcomes a succession of formidable opponents to finally face the Russians. With the whole world watching, the U.S. hockey team pulls off the nearly impossible.

Miracle is as much about Brooks as it is about the squad. Much like the coach took a huge risk by focusing on the Soviets when there were many other high-caliber teams, the filmmakers take a risk by focusing on Brooks. With Russell playing Brooks, the risk pays off nicely.

Sporting a suit and a haircut that can only be described as "early history teacher," Russell looks very much like Brooks did at the time. And with a seemingly authentic Minnesota accent, he completes the transformation. Yet acting is much more than mimicry, and Russell pulls off one of the best performances of his career as the driven coach.

Miracle takes another chance that works in the casting of the team. Director Gavin O’Connor and his casting directors conducted a nationwide search for the players. Their main criterion for the young men was an ability to play hockey, figuring a good performance could be coaxed out of them. This adds authenticity to the movie.

Miracle is a rare movie, indeed. It is character-driven in a genre in which characters usually take a backseat to the action. This approach not only complements the action, but also elevates the entire film.

Recommended rental

Intolerable Cruelty
R
Available Tuesday

The inimitable Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, pay homage to screwball comedies of the 1940s. George Clooney plays Miles Massey, a high-powered Los Angeles divorce lawyer nearing a midlife crisis. While representing wealthy client Rex Rexroth (Edward Herrmann), Miles meets his match in Rex’s gold-digging wife, Marilyn (Catherine Zeta-Jones). He’s impressed by her similarly heartless ways of using marriage to fuel an expensive lifestyle, but he still defeats her in court. With Marilyn looking to get her revenge and Miles finding himself attracted to her, the two engage in a ruthless romantic pursuit to out-swindle each other.