The film tells the story of Ernie’s too-brief life (more on that in a minute), but in a bigger way, it’s the story of how difficult it was to change minds and attitudes during the civil rights era. The other central figure in the film is Syracuse coach Ben Schwartzwalder, who was certainly willing to have black players on his team, but also had to come to terms with his own attitudes and feelings, both through his interaction with those players but also as he saw the circumstances they were having to confront.
So, this is a movie about football, but more than a football movie. The football part does come through strongly. Rob Brown, who plays Ernie, was himself an athlete in high school and college and does well in that aspect of the role. He also has a wonderfully expressive face and eyes and conveys Ernie’s intelligence and struggles with facing down ignorance and outright racism. Dennis Quaid plays the coach very effectively.
The first part of the film is about Ernie’s growing up and growing as an athlete, first in Pennsylvania, living with his grandfather (played by the great Charles S. Dutton), then in Elmira, NY, where he moves with his mother when she remarries. It’s there that he gets the attention of some of the top college programs. Syracuse steals him away from Notre Dame thanks to personal recruiting from the great Jim Brown, who was finishing up his Syracuse career before heading to the NFL. Brown (played by Darrin Dewitt Henson) is straight with Ernie; he lets him know it won’t be easy, but also that Schwartzwalder is a good coach.
Ernie is one of three black players on the team; his closest friend is Jack Buckley (played by Omar Benson Miller). The two navigate campus and the team together, with Jack giving Ernie the lowdown on the one absolute no-no: no dating white girls. Luckily, Ernie and Jack meet two black girls, and for Ernie at least, it’s the beginning of a long-term relationship with Sarah Ward (Nicole Beharie).
Ernie Davis could run, and he had great moves. In his sophomore year, Syracuse went undefeated and took on #2 Texas in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, playing for the national championship. There had been some tough games along the way in terms of racist fans of opposing teams, but in the Texas game, things were ugly. The Texas players tried to hurt Ernie and the other black players every chance they got, to the point where an outright fight broke out just before halftime. Syracuse was ahead at that point, and the coach decided to take Ernie out (he was playing hurt already). But Ernie insisted on coming back in in the second half and Syracuse went on to win decisively. Ernie was named the most valuable player, but he couldn’t go to receive the trophy because the country club where the presentation was being held was segregated. I’m glossing over a lot of bad moments in this segment of the film, but it’s presented very dramatically.
As this progression is happening, both Ernie and his coach come to realize the role model that he is for black America. Ernie was never the activist that Jim Brown was, but he took his responsibilities seriously and was, as depicted in the film and in accounts of his friends and teammates, a wonderful, focused, mature young man. He obviously achieved a lot on the football field, but also off it. What he might have done in the NFL and after is unknown. Shortly after being drafted by the Cleveland Browns (who had earlier taken Jim Brown), Ernie Davis was diagnosed with leukemia. He suited up for only one game, and that only to be honored by cheering fans. He died at the age of 23.
So, The Express tells two stories. There’s the biography of Ernie Davis, a very notable college football player. And there’s also the story of what conditions were like for black college football players in the late 1950s and early 1960s, especially when they had to play teams in the South. There are a lot of complicated relationships in The Express, and they’re not all fully developed, but the film gives the viewer a great deal to think about.
Special features include several deleted scenes, with optional commentary by director Gary Fleder. Several of the scenes have to do with Ernie’s illness, and Fleder’s explanations for why they were dropped are interesting and make a lot of sense. (There’s also a commentary track for the entire film with Fleder.) Both a making of featurette and another short give insight into how the football scenes were done and why they look so authentic. (Because they’re real football players making real contact.) The making of also looks at some of the casting choices.
There’s also more biographical information on Ernie himself, featuring interviews by some of the people in the film but also actual teammates and family members. And, two other special features were produced at Syracuse, one a focus on eight members of the 1959 championship team who reminisce about the season, the other a piece on the film’s interaction with the campus community and also Syracuse’s overall diversity picture. The latter includes interviews with notable alumni (including Bob Costas and Angela Robinson from the broadcast world) and current students and faculty. Disclaimer here: I was on the Syracuse faculty for eight years, and taught with several of the faculty members interviewed.
The feature and several of the special features are in 1080P high-def. Audio for the feature is English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 with a Spanish DTS 5.1 option; the special features are in English Dolby Digital 2.0. Subtitle options are English, Spanish and French. The football footage is especially sharp.