"Pride" is inspired by the story of Jim Ellis who in the 1970s took the condemned Marcus Foster Recreation Center, in the Nicetown section of Philadelphia, and turned it into a swimming facility for local kids, churning out young swimming scholars in the process. The film is centered on Mr. Ellis' first year at P.D.R. (Philadelphia Department of Recreation) when he found a way to take a small group of black teens and coach them to the white-dominated Nationals. As you would imagine, many lessons are learned by the characters and there are a lot of swelling strings along the way - this is after all a classic, at times formulaic, underdog story. But it's an effective one all the same.
In a jarring opening sequence, Mr. Ellis (Terrence Howard) is seen as a talented young swimmer pushed to violence by racism at a competition. The film then shifts its focus ten years later as Mr. Ellis, after graduating college, is forced to take a job preparing the Foster Center for its demolition. When Mr. Ellis stumbles upon the Center's pool, he can't help but fix it up. When the local boys have their basketball hoop confiscated by the city, Mr. Ellis sees an opportunity to help out. Before you know it, he has a budding young swim team on his hands.
Refreshingly, the film is not shy about confronting the racism that Mr. Ellis and his boys run into at every turn; their road to the finals is not easy. While a PG-rating tempers any real danger in the film, there's nothing wrong with a family-friendly movie with a positive message. Sunu Gonera makes an impressive debut here. While he does nothing new with the material, he does a good job with the familiar trappings of early-70s music and fashion. There is also some great camera work during the competitions, as the director attempts to do for swimming what Martin Scorsese did for a different kind of pool in 1986's "The Color of Money".
Unfortunately, despite a script credited to no less than four writers, the kids are only lightly fleshed out, and we rarely get a glimpse of their lives outside the pool. But "Pride" belongs to Terrence Howard, and the prolific actor continues to astound in one powerhouse performance after another. "Pride" finds Mr. Howard turning 180 degrees from his role as the pimp (for whom it was "hard out there") in
"Hustle & Flow". Mr. Howard's every scene is a study in layers and subtlety. He almost single-handedly makes the film worth watching.
"Pride" is a simpler, smaller underdog story than the recent "Glory Road" or "We Are Marshall", but it's effective nonetheless thanks to the capable cast and sturdy direction. You may ask yourself why Hollywood continues to recycle the same old tried-and-true formulas. The simple reason is: when it works, it works well.
