SCREEN

It's the emotional stuff that rescues the film from dying under a heap of clichés. We Are Marshall tells the story of the ill-fated 1970 Marshall University football team, all of whom perished in a plane crash, leaving only the assistant coach and a handful of injured and absent players behind. As in many sports films, the team served as the heart of its community, and the town is devastated. A student rally leads to the controversial decision to rebuild the team, which brings coach Jack Lengyel (McConaughey) to Marshall.

McConaughey is alternately effective and cartoonish as Lengyel, a guy who frequently speaks out of the side of his mouth with the boundless and occasionally tiresome enthusiasm of a 3-year-old on a sugar binge. More effective is Lost's Matthew Fox as assistant coach Red Dawson. Racked with survivor's guilt, he can't help but wonder if building a losing team to garner pity applause really honors the memory of the former team.

But the film is about dealing with grief, and in a particularly moving scene, Lengyel admits to the disillusioned Dawson that they may not win a game all season or for years, but that's just the process of grieving. The sooner you go through it, the sooner you can get past it.

All of this takes place amid the usual backdrop of training montages and slow-motion tackles, all of which feel painfully familiar. But the underlying theme of moving on from loss feels honest. And, for once, the overly romanticized game serves as a fitting metaphor. You don't quit playing just because you've lost.