agmtw logo
search
Undefeated (2011)

The Very Best

8.4

Movie

United States of America
English
Documentary
2011
DANIEL LINDSAY, T. J. MARTIN
Bill Courtney, Chavis Daniels, Montrail 'Money' Brown
113 min

What it's about

Set against the backdrop of a high school football season, Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin’s documentary UNDEFEATED is an intimate chronicle of three underprivileged student-athletes from inner-city Memphis and the volunteer coach trying to help them beat the odds on and off the field. For players and coaches alike, the season will be not only about winning games — it will be about how they grapple with the unforeseeable events that are part of football and part of life.

The take

Undefeated won an Oscar but since it’s a documentary, few sadly paid attention to it. It tells the story of a football team in a poor area in Tennessee. Kids without a bright future, until the new coach arrives. Yes, that sounds like a very old, cliché tale. But keep in mind it is a documentary, and the story it tells is powerful, gripping, and any familiarity quickly becomes irrelevant. Even if you have no interest in American football, or in sports in general, you will love it and more than likely find yourself reaching for the Kleenex at least a few times before the credits roll.

Comments

This is the original “Last Chance U” in terms of style and heart. There is probably more heart in this documentary since the players are in high school and their coach is more invested in the them as people.

Add a comment

Your name

Your comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

The Guilty (2018)

A minimalist, razor-sharp thriller that will have you gasping for air.

9.0

The Substance (2024)

Demi Moore swaps bodies in this standout chaotic body dysmorphia horror

8.0

Forgotten Love (2023)

The stunning third take of the classic Polish pre-war melodrama

7.7

Hail Satan? (2019)

Forget everything you think you know about the Satanic Temple

8.0

Incendies (2011)

Part melodrama, part war thriller, Incendies is gorgeous and heartbreaking from the first scene

9.9

Wind River (2017)

Sicario's screenwriter directs this story of murder in an Indigenous reserve

9.4

A Silent Voice (2016)

A coming-of-age movie that circles around friendship and the atonement of a boy

8.7

Wild Tales (2014)

Co-produced by Pedro Almodóvar, this tumultuous Argentine anthology film tests the limits of human sanity when pushed to the extremes – and will also test yours.

9.9

The Farewell (2019)

Awkwafina shines in this complex culture clash comedy.

9.1

Leave the World Behind (2023)

Shyamalan meets Black Mirror in this hugely entertaining, visually inventive apocalyptic thriller with a killer ending

8.2

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.