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Any Given Sunday

Release Date: 31 March 2000
Distributor: Warner Brothers
Certificate: 18
Starring: Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid, James Woods, Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J, Matthew Modine
Director: Oliver Stone
Running Time: 162 mins
Whenever Oliver Stone chooses a subject on which to base a film you can be sure that it is going to be different, exciting, visually stunning and probably controversial.

If you look at his back catalogue of movies it reads like a "Who's Who" of great cinematic journeys into the minds and souls of it's lead protagonists. "J.F.K", "Platoon", "Natural Born Killers", "The Doors" to name but a few seem to have an immediate accessibility to the paying public whilst often tackling the subject matter in a contentious, overstated yet cavalier manner. It would be true to say that this latest outing does the same, but there is undoubtedly a lot more substance and gritty realism to the characters and the plot tempered with heavy undercurrents of Stone's own tried and tested brand of sensationalism.
"Any Given Sunday" is a hard-hitting, adrenaline pumping, steroid-injected look at the macho, testosterone-charged world of American Football as seen through the eyes of one manager (Al Pacino) and his struggling team as they head towards their last chance of the season to reach the play-offs and glory, or suffer the ignominy of defeat and yet another unfulfilled season. However one views this sport, whether you are a real fan, a "once-a-year-stay-up-for-the-Super Bowl-devotee" or you hate it, this movie must be seen. The energy and power during the game scenes is as breath-taking and beautiful as it is terrifying and brutal with the direction and cinematography conveying imagery that quite often falls somewhere between "Rollerball", "The Wild Bunch" and a brilliantly choreographed ballet. It is a roller-coaster/helter-skelter/bungy-jump ride that you won't want to get off and you are virtually guaranteed to feel every crunching tackle and taste each drop of blood that is spilt.
Pacino is as solid, loud, angry and demented as he has ever been and is aided admirably by an eclectic ensemble of great actors who each help to paint their little part of the canvas that is the human backdrop to this epic journey into an intrinsic and vital part of the American dream.

Dennis Quaid, Lawrence Taylor, Jamie Foxx and LL Cool J all put in very convincing performances as players at various stages of their sporting careers at loggerheads with each other and themselves.

James Woods sinks to new lows as an ethically and morally corrupt team doctor locked in a constant sparring match with his younger and more caring under-study, played by Matthew Modine.
Cameron Diaz has inherited the team with her alcoholic mother (Ann-Margaret) and has the ruthless, money-orientated, bottom-line mentality that is poles apart from the loyalty and honesty that used to be associated with the game when her late father was in charge.

But it is Pacino's performance as a sort of peace-keeper, agent-provocateur, cum ranting despot that helps gel the action on and off the field and coupled with Stone's kaleidoscopic usage of camera techniques, angles, choppy film-editing and music-bites it all makes for one of the most enjoyable and visually stunning films of the year.

TOUCHDOWN

By DARRELL FINN