Review of Friday Night Lights (2004) by Adam W — 19 Jul 2008

This is easily Peter Bergs best film in an impressive career as a director. "Very Bad Things" was fun and twisted but an easy (not a criticism) debut, "The Rundown" was good fun, "The Kingdom" was an underrated thriller and "Hancock" was a decent summer movie.

But here Berg shot a film with little or no expectation around it and the lack of stars or budget works to his advantage. The story is irrelevant - its a film that works due to the detail in the characters, setting and consequence.

Its all filmed with a fly-on-the wall look that, for once, doesn't grate or feel like its been employed in lieu of any creative thought. The cast are all, everyone of them, convincing and sympathetic despite their flaws and it doesn't fall to tradition and cop out at the end.

A genuinely "perfect film" in the confines of its genre and beyond. That its subject matter is not to everyones taste only does it a disservice. And the score by Explosions In The Sky is remarkeable.